Beyond the Emerald Green
by OrcaPotter
Summary: Over 25 years in the future, a young woman reporter travels to a rual part of Scotland to interview someone who had disappeared at the high point of their career. The world had been saved, the people rejoiced, but what they didn't know was what had to be
1. Prologue

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Author's Note: Welcome to what I hope is something different & catching. For so long I wanted to write a novel that was completely different from the genre that I had associated myself with. This novel began, as almost all of my fics do, as a daydream- becoming inspired into words by the ending of Philip Pullman's The Amber Spyglass. I hope you enjoy this prologue & the following chapters.

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Disclaimer: I do not own the genius that is Harry Potter, but I do own Erin McDougal.

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Special Thanks: To my beta-readers, Indy514, 007, Merfyman, and my friends who so graciously read and encouraged as well.

Beyond the Emerald Green

prologue

She stepped off the train onto a deserted platform, wind blowing the smoke back from the train's engine onto her face. Pushing her short blonde hair behind her ears, she coughed and moved away just as the train's whistle blew shrilly. With mild interest, she watched as the monotonous transport began to roll away from the platform, revealing the scenery around her to be sullen and dark.

The weather was bitter and cold, and the woman looked around to make sure she was at the right place. A piece of parchment in her hand, words written upon it in green ink, held the name of the place she was supposed to go to. With a little apprehension, she walked up to the station counter and showed the name to the manager. After a moment of searching a crumpled map, the manager was able to point her in the right direction. She uttered her thanks, slipped the parchment under a thick notepad in her arms, and made for the exit.

Drops of rain were itching to fall as the woman walked doggedly up a steep dirt road, winding up a hill. Her tan colored raincoat was already tied around her so tightly that it was impossible to make any attempt to tighten it more without suffocating her. Thoughts of doubt and reluctance ran across her mind, not for the first time since she had begun her journey. The red dirt from the road she was treading began to cling to her large buckled shoes as the first droplets of water fell to the earth. Quickening her pace as best as she could, breathing hard from the effort of walking uphill, the woman's regret on having accepted this assignment became increasingly more discernible.

Finally, as the rain grew steadily more intense and thunder began to roll faintly far behind her, she reached flat land. The dirt road simply died into a thicket of enormous trees, made more omnipotent by the dark gloom of the rainy weather. She took a deep breath, her blonde hair now wet and sticking to her face. Somewhere beyond those trees, deep into that forest, was who she was looking for.

Lightning flashed and the thunder boomed, making her even more nervous as she hurried among the trees. Her sodden raincoat became loose as she sped up, urging herself to keep moving. Already the notepad in her hands was damp, even after being carefully sheltered under her arm. She let out an exasperated cry, sloshing through steadily growing puddles in new mud.

Suddenly, she slammed up against something she couldn't see. Nearly stumbling backwards, she cursed under her breath and nodded. She was expecting this. Fumbling in her coat, she drew out a long mahogany wand. After a few well-chosen words tumbled out of her mouth, the air in front of her seemed to melt before her eyes, falling with the rain. But the path remained clear, and she didn't hesitate to break out into a run and head up toward the top of a precipice of rock.

The weather hindered any attempt to take a closer look at the upcoming spectacle. It was too difficult to make out anything through the dark gloom to see how oddly a house was sitting at the edge of a crag. How the dark wooden structure seemed to be balanced impossibly from plunging over the hill and into the dark gloom that was the ocean below. It had large glass windows, glowing faintly from firelight or candles inside. When the lightning flashed again, she could just make out a stone stairway leading up the side of the rocky crag to the porch of the unusual house. The sight of it filled her with both hope and doubt, unsure about whom she will meet inside.

It seemed like an eternity going up those steps, made slick by the rain. Now she was soaked from head to foot, chilled to the bone, and wanting desperately just to be back home where it was warm. But she had a job to do, and she was the only one who believed that it might be possible to accomplish it.

She was too cold, wet, and exhausted to appreciate the woodwork on the large door that appeared before her. She was too headlong too take in the carving of a stag burnished deeply on the wood with careful craftsmanship. All that mattered was reaching up with her fist and pounding upon that door, eager to get it all over with… if it could even be done at all.

At first, after the resounding echo of the frantic knock she made died away into the confines of the house, her heart sank when no movement could be heard from inside. Moments passed, droplets of rain dripping off her nose and hair, annoying her to the point where she knocked furiously again. Yet, there was still no answer.

Her long journey was for nothing, and she had been warned. She was willing to admit it now, on the threshold of her impossible assignment. Despite the doubts of her colleagues and her own, she insisted that she could do it… that she could accomplish what many before her could not. To go back and face her friends and co-workers made her heart jolt with failure.

_But then again, I knew all along that the others were right. I just wasn't willing to accept it._

After a groan of anguish and a sneeze, she turned to head back the way she came. Trying to figure out how to afford the trip home with the strange money she had to acquire for this impossible assignment, she stepped out into the rain once more. That was when a soft creak and a stroke of light across the ground made her stop.

She turned back to see the large ornate door pulled back, the streak of gentle firelight dancing on the wet grass. A dark face was just barely peering from inside, and the person said nothing.

"Hello?" she said loudly over rolling thunder.

The person remained silent.

"Er… my name is Erin McDougal. Could I speak with you a moment?" she walked back up closer to the door.

The person, tall and dark, edged back behind the door, just barely visible.

"Why?" a man's low, tired voice inquired from the dark face.

Erin was tired and annoyed by the person's lack of open hospitality. Could he not see that she was soaking wet and cold?

"I'm here from the Daily Prophet. Are you…? Are you… Mr. Harry Potter?"

He did not answer for a long moment, Erin shifting her weight uncomfortably in her wet raincoat. Her notepad was wet beyond use now.

"What if I am?" he asked quietly and suspicious.

"I'd like to interview you."

The door shut loudly in her face. Erin was beside herself with anger.

"Well I never! Of all the rudest things…! I mean, for Merlin's sake, it's raining and cold out here!" she stomped her foot, tossing back her wet blonde hair with a flick of her head. There was nothing left for her to do; she couldn't use her wand to force open the door, that was illegal. She could knock again and demand to be at least given a place to wait out the storm, but Erin knew that that would be fruitless from a man who was so heartless as to shut her out in the first place.

With a low growl, Erin turned to go back down the stone stairs, only to hear the soft creak of the door again behind her. She looked back abruptly, swinging her wet hair around, to see the door left ajar with the firelight seemingly beckoning her back. The man was not there, but Erin had the feeling that he had had a change of heart.

"Alright then," she muttered under her breath, sloshing through in her soaked raincoat into the doorframe. "Perhaps this won't be so impossible after all."

The house was dim, with the firelight from a distant large room ahead of her providing the only light. The door closed by itself behind her, most likely enchanted to do so. Erin noticed a coat hanger with a single large black cloak hanging from it, and she didn't bother to ask if she could take off her raincoat to put there as well. She nearly had to peel her coat off her, dropping her useless parchment on the floor and hanging the wet coat on the only other peg on the hanger. After a moment's hesitation, she walked over the wood paneled floor down a small corridor and into a large open room where the fire was sitting.

Here, the wooden walls were replaced with glass. Erin was struck with an image in her mind of bright sunlight and blue sky spreading itself across the view. Only now the glass was black and indigo blue with the gloom of the rainstorm outside. The rain pattered hard on the roof above her, droplets just visible on the glass windows. It was then that Erin looked around the large room, seeing only a single large armchair placed in front of the fire.

A clatter to her left and a clap of thunder above her shook her from the stare she was in, and Erin looked over her shoulder to see the open room move into a smaller one. It was there that she saw the man, back towards her as she took in that this smaller room was the kitchen.

He was tall, dressed in worn clothing that hung off of him loosely. His black hair was a horrible mess, strands of it reaching out in every direction. Erin rubbed her arms up and down for warmth as she noticed how skinny he was, making him seem so frail and tired. The only movement he was making was a slow, rhythmic stirring of his right arm, obviously cooking something over a stove.

"Ehem." Erin cleared her throat, feeling awkward. A moment ago she didn't care if she could break a way into that house, no matter what this dark man said. But now, standing in his presence in _his_ home, she felt like an intruder. Now not even sure if she could even ask again if he would allow himself to be interviewed. Yet, that was what she was there for… and now that she was inside where it was dry, her young confidence that got her there in the first place was coming back.

However, the man still didn't move, didn't turn, still didn't say a thing. Erin stood maladroitly at the kitchen's edge, close to a counter. It was then that she noticed that the house was nearly empty. The armchair facing the fire the only real piece of furniture she could see. It seemed like forever until the man made any other movement. He reached into a cupboard, pulled out two mugs, and filled one with a large ladle that was sitting on the counter to the side. Then in a slow, fluid movement, he passed her silently, and went to sit with his back turned in the armchair facing the fire. 

Erin blinked, unsure of what to do next. She looked at the steaming pot he was cooking with, and at the mug to its side. A roll of hunger pains twisted her stomach, and she looked back at the armchair where the man was sitting, wishing he would give permission verbally. Yet he still remained silent, unmoving, and Erin's hunger gave in. She took up the ladle, pouring what she discovered to be tomato soup into the empty mug he had left out obviously for her. Smiling as she breathed in the heated aroma of the soup in the mug, she tentatively moved out into the large windowed room. Her smile faded as she wondered what to do or say next. Slowly, holding the hot mug with both her hands, she moved next to the armchair, seeing his long legs stretched out toward the fire.

"Ermm… thank you. For the soup. And uh, for letting me in." she ran a hand through her wet hair, suddenly nervous.

He still didn't say anything. The only sounds were the pounding of rain, rolls of thunder, and the crackling of the fire in the hearth. 

"Well, er…-"

"Sit down." He said abruptly, his tired voice containing hidden power restrained within.

Erin blinked again, looking around doubtfully, as there was no other furniture. She almost considered taking the floor, when he spoke again, louder this time.

"Sit."

He didn't even move, from what she could see from her viewpoint, but another identical armchair was conjured out of thin air behind her. Without waiting for another word, she sat down, the soup-filled mug in her hands. Erin stared, able to see his upturned arms holding his own mug of soup. His hands were aged, but not elderly… just worn from the stresses of life. She could make out his nose, holding up a pair of fine rimmed glasses. His black hair jutted out, flecks of gray now visible with the firelight. When it was apparent he wouldn't speak again, she sipped at her soup.

"Why are you here?" he asked abruptly all of a sudden. Erin jumped, tipping some soup on her chin.

"Er…" she fumbled to clean her face, heart racing. "I'm here to interview you. You are Harry Potter, am I right?"

He took a loud, slow breath.

"And what if I am?" he said quietly.

She narrowed her eyes, growing tired with this solitary man who had chosen to hide himself away in the middle of nowhere for so long.

"If you are, which I know you are, I'm here to find out what happened that made you choose to exile yourself away from our world."

"I thought I told you reporters to leave me alone. My life is my business, no one else's." he muttered darkly.

"After all that you've done, you disappear. Our people looked up to you, admired you, had faith in you… and when it was all over, you shunned the very life you fought so hard to keep in tact. Everyone now thinks you a coward, unable to come to terms." Erin said tersely.

"And do _you_ think I'm a coward?" he whispered.

Erin paused.

"No. I'm here to prove I'm right, but now I'm not so sure."

The silence returned, and Erin looked away, twisting the mug slowly in her hands. She began to wonder if any of the other reporters before her got this far with the famous wizard, but from the feel of things, she wasn't sure she was going to get any further.

"There is so much that the world doesn't know." Harry said quietly.

She looked over at his chair, considering his statement.

"If you tell me what really happened, perhaps the world would understand why you're here."

A small table suddenly appeared in thin air right next to his chair, and he set his mug atop it. Then, slowly, making Erin hold her breath, he leaned forward and looked straight into her eyes. She gulped, staring into the deep, bottomless green peering straight through her. There was power beyond anything she ever sensed before in those eyes, and they had seen many, many terrible things. He was a little older than middle aged, stress showing clearly on his face. It was then that Erin realized the intensity of this powerful wizard's life, and already began to understand slightly just why he was alone in his exile.

"No one will ever _truly_ understand. But if you promise me one thing, perhaps I'll decide to tell you." He said directly to her.

"Sure." Erin could feel the journalist inside of her bristle with excitement.

"Do not copy what I tell you. You will not publish any notes with biased observation. Promise me, that you will write what you _understand_. You will not write about the 'downfall of the great Harry Potter', but about the life that he used to live." The lenses of his black rimmed glasses flashed across her face, and the force of his words struck Erin to the core of her soul. She couldn't help but to nod in slight awe.

"Promise me!" he barked.

"Yes! I promise!" Erin jumped.

He nodded slightly, leaning back into his armchair and disappeared. Erin longed for her notepad of parchment, but not only was it too wet to use, she had just promised not to take notes. She would have to listen with every fiber of her body, and the journalist inside was ready.

"Well," Harry sighed. "I never thought I would do this, but maybe it's about time the world should know. I trust you, Erin."

She had never felt such a higher complement, not even from the chief editor at the Prophet could top any praise from the man who had saved the world. Erin blushed, and settled into her chair.

"Everyone knows what happened in the beginning. Everyone knew long before I did myself. But what happened after I returned to the wizarding world is a story that only I know word for word, memory for memory. Listen, Erin, because I'm only going to re-live my life once more." Harry said deeply, and as the thunder and pounding of rain continued to storm outside, he began to tell his story…

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Author's Note: I am going to finish Shadows of Yesterday before writing the next chapter, and there are maybe 3 more chapters left to go for Timothy's current adventure. But this is a promising story, I'm told, and I will definitely continue and finish this before doing anything else. When will you expect it? Please be sure to visit [http://www.theworldofreneepotter.disneyfansites.com][1] frequently for updates on my work, for I will be sure to post any information regarding this story and my others at least once a week.

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"Why take the road less traveled? Why not take one that hasn't been traveled at all?"

~OrcaPotter

OrcaMorph@aol.com

   [1]: http://www.theworldofreneepotter.disneyfansites.com/



	2. Departure

Author's Note: Okay, so maybe I lied… I went ahead and wrote the first chapter before finishing Shadows of Yesterday  ****

Author's Note:Okay, so maybe I lied… I went ahead and wrote the first chapter before finishing Shadows of Yesterday J . I'm afraid I'll loose my ideas for this story before long if I don't work on it now, what with a month or so to go until Graduation (phew, boy… is this going to be interesting). Anyway, thanks a million and one for reviewing the prologue, I only hope this first chapter is equally pleasing. I'll give each and every one of you personal thank you's at the end of the novel, but for now THANK YOU to EVERYONE right now. Also, I came across a _fantastic_ essay on "what is a wizard"… I'm sure you'll enjoy it as much as I have, please take the time and read it before being so kind as to reviewing again- _your reviews are what helps make the story great_!

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Special Thanks: To 007 and RavenNat, my beta readers

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Chapter One

Departure

"If you so much as leave a sock behind, don't bother coming back for it!"

_If I did, it wouldn't matter. My socks are your old ones, anyway. You can keep them, for all I care._

Harry stood in the foyer. A large trunk and an extra small bag to the side were hastily pushed toward the door. They stared at each other heatedly, unsure of what to do. Aside from the vehement outbursts, the house at number four Privet Drive was eerily silent. The only sounds he could hear was the ticking of the clock in the hall and his own excited breathing. It had taken eighteen years, but finally, the day had come. Harry wasn't sure who was more eager for him to leave, his uncle or himself.

"And don't you dare come trudging back here thinking you'll have a place to stay. Once you're out, you're out for good. Keep your freak business to yourself, and leave us alone." His Uncle Vernon pointed a chubby finger at him. Normally, if he were younger, Harry would tremble at his feet and nod nervously at his uncle's words. However, now that he was eighteen and legally an adult, not to mention a full head's height taller than his fat, gargantuan relative, the threat was a welcome one. Harry had no intention on _ever_ returning to Privet Drive, no matter what predicament he might find himself in.

There was a loud honk and a slamming of a car door outside. Harry quickly went to the window, his uncle snorting angrily behind him. Much to his relief and joy, Ron Weasley and his father were coming up the walkway to the porch.

"Don't you dare invite them in!" shrieked Harry's Aunt Petunia, who had rushed into the living room from the confines of her kitchen to peer in the window as well.

Harry rolled his eyes and did not hesitate to rush to the door and open it before Mr. Weasley had a chance to raise his fist to knock.

"Ah! Harry! All-"

Harry threw his trunk and bag out the door to Ron, nearly knocking him over before he even had a chance to stop walking.

"Set?" Mr. Weasley finished, blinking.

"Hey Ron, hello Mr. Weasley. Yes, I'm ready." Harry said quickly with a large grin on his face. He stepped out the door as Mr. Weasley gave him a quick, friendly hug, then turned to look back at the Dursleys, who were scowling at him as if he were a juvenile delinquent. Then again, they always looked upon him as a juvenile delinquent.

Harry was about to mutter a goodbye, just out of politeness, before his uncle barked out:

"Don't show your face around here ever again, boy. Keep to your ruddy kind."

Even through his fascination with Muggles, Mr. Weasley had heard and seen enough of this pair to drive him mad. His hand went to his wand, sheathed in his cloak, before Harry put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head.

"Don't bother," he whispered. "Don't waste energy on those pieces of trash."

Mr. Weasley blushed slightly, his face still set with anger, as the Dursleys slammed the door fearfully in their faces. He nodded and smiled sheepishly at Harry, heading back down the walkway to a car that had obviously been provided by the Ministry of Magic. Ron was already inside, having tucked Harry's trunk and bag in the rear. As Harry walked away behind Mr. Weasley, he pulled out his wand slowly and raised it behind his back. A spell slipped out of his mouth, and inaudible clicks of door and window locks were issued all around Number Four, locking its inhabitants inside. The electricity was then cut off, and he could just hear his aunt shrieking in response.

"What's so funny?" Ron asked as he climbed into the back seat with him.

Harry had been trying hard to stifle a laugh, but he managed to keep his composure with a smile.

"Nothing. I'm just happy to finally be able to leave. For good."

"I didn't see your cousin, Duddy, or whoever." Mr. Weasley said as they pulled away from Privet Drive.

"He already left for college in Oxford. I don't think I've ever seen my aunt cry so hard in my life when he left. If I could help it, I would have thrown a party." Harry said, not looking back at his old home.

"That's one bash I sure wouldn't have missed!" Ron laughed, his flaming red hair scraping the roof of the large car. While Harry was tall, Ron was even taller, as he always had been. Only now, he threatened to tower above his father.

"Now, boys, you know not to use magic inappropriately, right?" Mr. Weasley looked at them both in the rear view mirror.

They merely chuckled.

"Right?" Mr. Weasley pressed.

"Er, sure dad, yeah." Ron grinned.

Mr. Weasley sighed and ran a hand through his graying hair. Harry and Ron couldn't help but to laugh finally.

"And to think that you two are going to be in the Royal Auror's Society. Heaven help us all." Mr. Weasley narrowed his eyes at them through the mirror.

"Don't worry, Mr. Weasley, we'll be good boys. Honest!" Harry smiled his best smile.

"That's what I'm afraid of." He chuckled. "I almost set a bad example for the two of you back there. At least you had more sense than I did then, Harry, to stop me. Would have been embarrassing for the head of Muggle Artifacts to have hexed a pair of Muggles."

"As much as I wanted you to turn them into roaches, I figured as much." Harry grinned.

"I would have done it, anyway." Ron whispered.

"I know." Both Harry and Mr. Weasley said.

They all laughed for a good five minutes afterward, imagining the numerous things they could have turned the Dursleys into, before they finally settled and the busy streets of London came into view.

"Tom has everything set for you at the Leaky Cauldron. Your mother, Ron, wants you to owl home as soon as you can. You too, Harry; She already sent Hedwig ahead to your room so that you could owl her back. I still don't know why you two refuse to stay at the Burrow until you ship off to the Society." Mr. Weasley said.

"We've been through this, dad, a million times." Ron crossed his arms, exasperated. "If we're to be on our own we have to start out on our own from the get-go. Besides, you still got Ginny… and Percy is there, too. Consider this a blessing that the house will be tolerable now, what with the twins off in America with their growing joke store business."

"I just got a postcard from them, by the way." Harry said. "It had a picture of a wizard trying desperately hard to free himself from getting stuck in a bale of hay. They just struck a deal and bought out a smaller business based in Idaho."

"Yeah, we got a postcard, too." Ron said. "Only, there was a potato stuck to ours."

"It was very good." Mr. Weasley grinned in the rear view.

"You ate it?!" Ron looked indignant.

"Well, what else do you do with potatoes?" Mr. Weasley laughed.

"Muggles sometimes make batteries with them. They are supposed to be able to conduct electricity." Harry said, laughing at Ron's response.

"Oh! Really? How fascinating! Let's hope we get more potatoes from them, then. I'd like to see how that's done!" Mr. Weasley was ecstatic.

Ron groaned and rolled his eyes, Harry laughing until his stomach hurt. He had never before felt more free, not even when he had stepped onto the Hogwarts Express for the first time his first year. Harry was full of happiness, and he felt like he could accomplish anything. The troubled memories of his lonely childhood seemed to be left behind at Privet Drive, where he would never set foot again.

It wasn't long until Mr. Weasley pulled over to the curve in front of the Leaky Cauldron. Ron ducked out of the car and Harry helped pull their luggage from the trunk. Mr. Weasley went inside and notified Tom that they were there. By the time both boys had their luggage on the sidewalk, Tom and Mr. Weasley were outside to help them into the pub.

"Seems like only yesterday I met the young hero, so small and wide-eyed. Now look at you!" Tom shook Harry's hand as they walked inside.

"Hello, Tom. How's business?" He looked around at the pub, noticing at once the low light level and smell of mead. However, as Tom sighed and continued to drag Harry's trunk to the foot of the stairs leading to the upper floor where the rooms were, he noticed that there was only one other person in the whole pub. And this wizard was slouched over and snoring in a drunken sleep.

Ron sidled up beside Harry and shook his head.

"Poor Tom, not much business anymore." He whispered.

"I thought it was just because it was morning." Harry nearly lied. Ever since Voldemort's return four years prior, the magical community had been in a steady decline. Fear was in everyone's eyes, and every time Harry looked at someone he couldn't help but to feel a pang of slight guilt. Had it not been for him when he was fourteen, Voldemort would still be a powerless shadow in some remote forest of the country. He never voiced this emotion to anyone, but his closest friends could see it in his own eyes.

"Someone's waiting for you in your room, Mr. Potter." Tom smiled a toothy grin, bowing slightly as Harry and Ron went upstairs, closely followed by Mr. Weasley. 

"No funny business now, Harry." Mr. Weasley teased.

"Yeah, right." Harry rolled his eyes, chuckling as he opened the door to his room. A comfortable bed, dresser, wardrobe, and nightstand were the only furnishings. The window was slightly open, and sitting on the sill was his snowy owl, Hedwig.

"Hey, girl." He called softly to her, putting out an arm for her to perch on. She obliged the offer happily, and nibbled gently on his fingers as he used his other hand to untie a letter attached to her leg. Sure enough, it was a note from Mrs. Weasley.

"Bet Pig's on his way to my room with mine." Ron sighed dispassionately, going next door with Mr. Weasley.

Harry smiled and read the letter, feeling a tug at his heart for Mrs. Weasley, who had been very supportive for as long as he'd known her. She was the closest thing to a mother he had ever had, the Weasleys, his family. Ron was already considered his brother, and Harry was immensely grateful that his best friend was going to be an auror with him. If he had chosen a different career, to follow Hermione, perhaps, Harry's homesickness for the Burrow would be immense. They would get leave time, but with the growing empire that belonged to Voldemort, their newly acquired career was going to keep them away from home. For how long… until they destroyed the evil lord.

Hedwig nicked Harry's chin, shaking him from his reverie. Another owl had silently flown through the open window and was now perched atop the bed. The smaller brown tawny hooted impatiently, and Harry let Hedwig fly to the dresser to allow him to open the letter this owl had brought. As soon as its burden was free, the owl made a hasty exit, Hedwig piqued at it as it flew away.

Harry made no notice, and opened the newly delivered letter as he sat down on the bed. The handwriting he recognized immediately.

Dear Harry & Ron,

I hope this letter finds you well at the Leaky Cauldron. It's hard to believe that we won't be climbing onto the Hogwarts Express together this year, and I miss it already. Do try to be careful as you and Ron learn to be aurors, please? You will get Ron to make sure to write me everyday, won't you? I would have written Ron a letter right now, also, but this owl I am borrowing has a grudge against Pig, and refuses to deliver to Ron anymore. Tell him I'll be finally getting my own owl very soon, in time for a letter once you reach the Society. Ron will ask why I didn't write a separate letter for him to send with this one, but tell him that I have arranged to meet both of you tonight at the Leaky Caldron… so I will speak to him in person! Both of you, in fact. You didn't think I'd let you both go away for who knows how long without a final goodbye, did you? Well, whether you did or not, I'll be at the Leaky Cauldron at 7:00 tonight. I've also convinced someone to join us… _there's no escaping it anymore, Harry_. I'll see you tonight, then.

Love,

Hermione

Harry smiled and turned to go show Ron the letter, thinking at once on who it was Hermione would be bringing with her that night. He was both excited and scared, for this was yet another reason why he turned down the offer to stay at the Burrow until they left for the Society. However, there wasn't much time to worry, for Ron bumped into him in the doorway.

"Oh, oops. Did mum lecture you much the same way as she did me?" He scratched his head, peering closely at the other letter Harry was holding. "Is that from…? Why didn't she write _me_ too?"

Before Harry could even open his mouth, Ron snatched up Hermione's letter and read it through.

"Stupid Pig…" he muttered. "Oh, wait! She's coming tonight! And she's bringing…-"

"We better be ready, then." Harry cut him off before Ron could say any more. He took the letter from him and made his way downstairs, where Mr. Weasley and Tom were talking.

"All settled, then?" Mr. Weasley put his hands together.

"Yeah, dad. Thanks for taking us out here, I know how hard it is to get a car from the Ministry." Ron said, coming up from behind Harry.

"Yeah, Mr. Weasley, thanks." Harry smiled.

"No problem. I didn't want a repeat of four years ago, anyway. Besides, I love driving cars!"

Tom nodded his head and went back to his counter as the three of them looked at each other uncertainly.

"Well, this is it, then." Mr. Weasley averted his eyes, trying to be cheerful.

"Oh, come off it, dad. We'll write, and I'm sure we'll get time off for the holidays!" Ron sighed, although Harry could sense that he was trying very hard to keep his voice level.

"It's not that different from going off to Hogwarts… we just won't be home as often." Harry tried to console them.

"Alright, well… just behave yourselves then. And, be _careful_." Mr. Weasley pulled them both into a tight hug.

"We will." Harry whispered.

Mr. Weasley pulled them apart and smiled briefly, before ruffling both their heads and walking out with a slight wave to Tom. Harry and Ron watched him leave, stuffing their hands in their pockets.

"We will be back… home, I mean." Ron said hoarsely.

"Of course," Harry put a hand on his shoulder. "What we're doing is making sure that we'll always have a home to come back to… and everyone else."

"Right," Ron slipped away and began climbing the stairs. "Well, I want to out to Diagon Alley one last time and look around. How 'bout you?"

Harry smiled. "Sure."

Diagon Alley was considerably less crowded than it had been when Harry first had walked down its cobblestone street. Less and less people came here over the past four years, and those who did spent less time than they usually would. More than that, it was the fear that radiated from the people's eyes now, and Harry couldn't bring himself to look at them. Instead, he looked at the shops, reminiscing about the days when he, Ron, and Hermione would spend a summer's day getting their school supplies for the following year at Hogwarts. Yet, this was the first year when they wouldn't be doing that, and Harry couldn't help but sense that this could be the last time he ever walked down this way.

"Sure is quiet." Ron muttered, trying to sound cheerful, but his expression failed him.

"Eh, it's early afternoon. Everyone's having lunch." Harry tried to put him off.

"Yeah, I guess." He shrugged. "Hey, want to look in Quality Quidditch Supplies?"

"Okay." Harry picked up his pace, smiling slightly. Ron easily out-walked him, being taller… and before they knew it, they were both running giddily toward the familiar shop. The few scattered people up and down the street had to duck out of way from the two young adults, shaking their heads, but not helping but to smile. It didn't take long before Harry and Ron skidded to a halt outside the shop, but as they doubled over, panting, Harry looked up and frowned.

"It's closed."

"What?" Ron gasped, looking up himself. Sure enough, the large display window was dark and spotted with cobwebs. A yellowed piece of parchment was spell-o-taped to the window, reading CLOSED. Harry could just make out the shapes on the walls and tables inside where brooms and supplies where once shelved.

"Oh, this really sucks." Ron gritted his teeth.

Harry nodded.

"No one wants to play, anymore." He whispered, bringing his hand up to lay on the window.

"This is so stupid. People are so terrified that they won't even have fun, now." Ron crossed his arms and spun around to face the street, as if looking to blame someone. Harry simply stared in the window, feeling even more determined to get to the Society and become an auror… so that he just maybe could return the world back to it's original order- so that they might have fun again. He let his hand slide from the window, blurring his fingerprints next to a handprint much smaller than his. Whoever that child was who made that print, must of felt the same way… only without hope of doing anything about it. But Harry could.

"Come on, let's go." Ron bumped his arm. "I want to do something else, anyway."

"What?" Harry asked, bringing himself to following Ron back down the street.

"I want to get Hermione something." He answered simply.

"But you already did, before we left Hogwarts." Harry smiled slowly.

"Well," Ron blushed slightly. "There's no law against me getting her something else."

"True." Harry said.

It wasn't long before Ron stopped in front of the shop that sold owls and other magical pets. Harry blinked as Ron went to go inside.

"What are you going to get her? A nice rat to go with her new sweater?" he teased.

"Don't be stupid." Ron growled. "I'm getting her an owl. She was going to get one anyway, I'm saving her the trouble. Besides, I'll pick one out that'll be sure to be compatible with Pig."

"And you." Harry poked him.

"Careful, we're no longer underage. I'd watch yourself, or you'll find your jet black hair to be sunshine yellow soon enough."

"Oh, dear! Am I ever scared!" Harry laughed.

"You know… you're a git, you realize that?" Ron cracked a smile and went to punch him.

"Gentlemen! Please, no rough housing in my store!" Ordered the shopkeeper, sitting behind the counter stroking a particularly large black cat.

"Sorry, ma'am." They both chimed, grinning at each other.

Not more than twenty minutes later, they walked out with Ron holding a cage containing a small barn owl. The feathers around its eyes were white, with brown swirling around the rest of its full body. Harry looked at it and smiled.

"Are you going to name it, or are you going to let Hermione do it?"

"Well, I figure since I bought _her_, that I get to name _her_." Ron said tersely.

"Okay, so what are you going to name _her_." Harry crossed his arms with a grin.

"How about, Farore?" Ron suggested.

"Sounds great." Harry nodded. "Let's hope Hermione agrees."

"She will." Ron smiled. He looked at Harry closely as they began to walk off. "Aren't you going to get…-?"

"I have something in mind." Harry said quickly, not meeting his gaze.

"Well?" Ron stopped.

"Well, what?" Harry paused and looked back at him.

"What are you going to get her?" Ron put one hand on his hip, looking impatiently at him.

"I'll get her something! Ugh, just… look, I'll meet you back at the Cauldron, alright? I'll be there in a bit." Harry started walking back, passing Ron who caught him by the arm.

"It's okay, you know. I'm sorry…" he whispered, shaking his head.

"I'm fine, no really. I'll be back before seven." Harry tried to smile, but it just merely flattened his expression and he walked off, leaving Ron looking after him with an uncertain frown.

_This won't be as easy as I thought it would be. Not now._ Harry thought to himself as he rounded a corner. _Why can't I already be at the Society and be done with this?_

He slowed down his pace and stuffed his hands in his pockets, staring at the street as he walked on. It didn't occur to him that his fingers were curled into fists, or that he was trembling slightly. His apprehension about heading off to the Royal Aurors Society slipped into apprehension about that night- and whom he would meet… perhaps for the last time for a long, long while. With Death Eater activity at an all time high, it was doubtful that any auror- rookie or senior- would have any time off at all. It was hard enough parting with her on the last day at Hogwarts… now, to do it all over again, it would be even harder.

"What troubles you, young man?"

Harry blinked, realizing that he had stopped and was standing in front of a cart laden with various objects and an old witch was sitting on a stool behind it. She wore a crooked witch's hat and dusty looking robes, but her smile was warm and comforting, and Harry couldn't help but to let a corner of his mouth turn upward.

"So many things, and yet one thing in particular that shouldn't really bother me at all." He said.

The witch cocked her head and studied him closely, Harry swallowing hard under her scrutinizing gaze.

"Oh, my dear boy… but you wouldn't worry about it if it weren't very important to you."

Harry looked up and into the darkening sky as afternoon began to slip away.

"Yes, everything I worry about is important to me."

"And yet you must have faith." The witch said slowly.

Harry looked back at her.

"Faith in what? That everything will be fine?"

"Faith that she'll still be waiting for you when it's all over, when you return." She looked him straight in the eye.

Harry blinked, trying hard not to let his jaw drop, but failed anyway. He took his hands out of his pockets and fingered his wand unconsciously, wondering if this desolate looking witch was some sort of seer.

"How did you-?"

"Why, it's clearly written all over your face, young man!" the witch laughed. "Love does not announce itself subtly."

"Well, I don't…-" Harry stuttered, running a hand through his hair.

"Of course you do, don't be daft. Now, what can you possibly give this woman that would signify your feelings?" the witch bent over her cart, picking through the various objects laid out upon it. Harry followed her fingers, seeing her toss aside rings and mirrors, books, and strangely- a piece of sausage. Then her hand fell upon a place on the cart covered in shadow, where Harry couldn't clearly see, and she gasped.

"Ah, here now…"

Harry nervously fumbled with his tie, pulling his wizarding robes of dark forest green over his white shirt and black slacks as Hedwig hooted her approval from the dresser. Next to her talons was a small white box with a simple red ribbon tied around it. Harry kept looking at it every minute, wondering whether or not he should really give it to her. His hair protested to being combed and brushed, making his thin black rimmed glasses keep sliding down his nose in his frustration.

"She won't recognize you without your hair looking like you just walked out of a tornado, Harry." Ron said, pushing open his door. He was wearing his dark red wizarding robes and it was clear from the way he was standing that he was trying to cover up his poor job at putting on his tie.

Harry rolled his eyes at him and gave up with the brush, setting it down next to Hedwig who hooted sympathetically.

"Ready?" Ron asked, pulling at his collar.

"Yeah, just one minute, I'll meet you down there." Harry watched as Ron left, carrying Farore's cage covered with a sheet, and went back to his dresser. Hedwig nudged the small package toward him, and, with a sigh, Harry picked it up and put it in his pocket.

"Are you sure, Hedwig? What if…? What if she…?"

Hedwig gave a loud impatient hoot and flapped her wings. Harry laughed softly and patted her head.

"You're the expert. I'll see you later, okay?"

In reply, Hedwig nibbled his fingers delicately and took off for the window, flying into the setting sun. He watched her disappear before nervously stretching his shoulders and heading for downstairs.

"Everything in order, Mr. Potter?" Tom greeted him as Harry came down.

"Yes, Tom, thank you."

"I set up a private table for you in the back. Mr. Weasley is already waiting." Tom pointed in the direction where Ron was waving.

"Thanks a lot, Tom." Harry smiled and went to sit by him. It was the first time that night that Ron looked particularly nervous.

"Being pale makes your hair stand out better, Ron." Harry cocked him a grin.

"Oh, aren't you the funny one today?" Ron drummed his fingers on the table, glaring at him.

"Relax." Harry said, although more to himself than to Ron, for his foot was tapping uncontrollably under the table.

"Want anyth-"

"Ahh!" both Ron and Harry jumped in their seats.

"-to drink?" Tom jumped at their surprise.

They all looked at each other, and Harry swallowed dryly:

"Er… yeah, that'd be great, Tom. I'll just… I'll just have some ice water."

"Make that two." Ron added.

Tom nodded and left, leaving Harry and Ron staring at each other, before they burst out laughing.

"Look at us! Did you ever think we'd be so freaked out over girls?" Ron pounded the table.

"It's almost embarrassing." Harry struggled to breathe between laughs.

"What is?" said a smooth, feminine voice.

Harry and Ron stopped laughing immediately, hearts stopping as they looked up at an averaged height woman with wavy brown hair and large hazel eyes. She was smiling and looking at them both with good humor.

"Well? What's wrong? Cat got your tongues?"

Ron bolted to his feet and stumbled over his chair, nearly tossing the one next to him aside as he took her hands in his and kissed her.

"Sorry, Hermione. Nothing's wrong." He fixed the chair next to him and assisted her as she sat down. Harry gulped as he looked around, waiting anxiously to see whom she had brought with her.

"Where's-?" Ron began.

"She just had to step in the bathroom a moment, she'll be right out." Hermione interrupted. "Well, Harry? Hello!"

"Hey, Hermione. You look very nice." Harry smiled at her faintly.

"Now, Harry complements me… but, what about Ron, hmm? Did I hear him say how nice I look tonight?" Hermione put her chin on her hand and rolled her eyes.

"You look more stunning than a full moon on a cloudless night." Ron batted his eyes at her.

"Did you come up with that, or did Harry?" Hermione looked at him with a sly grin.

"Why, I'm hurt!" Ron put his hand over his chest like he had just been struck a blow. "Do you not think that I am very capable of coming up with my own poetic complements?"

"My brother wouldn't be able to compose anything more than his posture." Said a small voice from behind Harry.

"Ah! There you are!" Ron smiled, one eye resting on Harry's face.

With a deep breath, Harry turned in his chair to look at a very beautiful red headed young woman. She was blushing deeply, hands clasped firmly in front of her, wearing a very fitting pale blue dress and white sweater. Harry stumbled to his feet, Hermione and Ron watching them with knowing smiles.

"Hello, Ginny." He almost whispered.

"Hi, Harry." She answered, hands parting so she could twist a lock of her red hair around one of her fingers.

"Er… come sit down." He blurted out, pulling the chair next to him and stepping aside for her. She softly walked beside him, pausing a moment at his side, before sitting down. Harry gently pushed her in and sat down next to her, trying hard not to blush himself.

"What can I get you, ladies?" Tom suddenly appeared, setting glasses of water down in front of Harry and Ron.

"You wouldn't happen to have lemonade, would you, Tom?" Hermione smiled at him.

"Of course. And you, Miss Weasley?" Tom smiled at Ginny.

"That would be great for me, too, thanks." She smiled back. Harry couldn't help but grab his glass and down half the water. Ron followed suit as both girls watched idly.

"So, you guys… you're leaving tomorrow morning, right?" Hermione asked cheerfully, although Harry could tell that she was trying hard to do so.

"First thing." Ron answered.

"Do you know how long you'll be training for, before you start your actual work?"

"Er… a year, I guess. I'm not so sure." Ron swallowed hard.

"I thought you two did so much research on your potential career as was instructed by Professor McGonagall last month!" Hermione snorted.

"We did," Harry said. "There just isn't that much information on the Society, it being so elite and all… not too many people are accepted there."

"You would think these days that they would be out on the streets handing out pamphlets asking for more people to hire." Hermione shook her head. "Maybe that's what I'll do the first thing I start my job at the Daily Prophet. Aurors need more exposure… then maybe we'll actually be able to really set back- well, you know."

"So, you really are going to be a reporter now, huh?" Ron inquired, desperate to change the subject.

"Uh-huh. I'm real excited. Only…"

"Only what, Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Oh, nothing. Just… it's so weird, you know? This is all so very weird."

Everyone looked at each other, trying hard not to frown.

"You've _got_ to promise to keep in touch." Hermione said abruptly, averting her eyes from the table.

"Always," Ron whispered, taking her hand. "And I have something for you that'll make that so much easier."

Hermione looked at Ron and blinked.

"But, Ron…"

"No, look." Ron pulled the covered cage out from under the table and slid it in front of her. Hermione looked at him with wide eyes. Carefully, she lifted up the sheet and gasped.

"Oh, Ron! An owl!"

Ron watched her joyfully as Hermione removed the sheet and goggled at the barn owl inside, beaming with happiness.

"Her name's Farore. Hope you like it." Ron said tentatively.

"Like it? Oh, Ron, it's perfect! She's beautiful! Thank you!" she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. He happily returned the kiss. Harry smiled and looked away respectively, unaware that he had turned to Ginny's direction. She was silent, smiling to herself, and her eyes slid to his. He swallowed and opened his mouth to say something, when Tom showed up with the girls' lemonade.

"What a fine looking owl you got there, Miss Granger." Tom smiled and winked at Ron.

"Ron gave her to me. Thanks for the lemonade, Tom." Hermione grinned.

"No problem, my pleasure." He left them.

For the rest of the evening, the tension was soon lost and the four of them talked animatedly about things they had did at Hogwarts and stuff they would do when next they would meet. Harry found himself looking at Ginny the entire time, memorizing how she looked… the sound of her voice, her gentle scent. It took all of his will not to look forlorn, dreading the moment when he would have to say goodbye.

But that moment was inevitable, and everyone was yawning as Tom walked over to apologize that he had to close up the bar.

"We better go, then." Hermione looked downcast. "Ginny, your mum will be worried."

"Nah, she knows she's with us." Ron smiled at his younger sister.

Ginny smiled back, but it was brief.

No one moved, nor did anyone want to. Harry finally decided to follow his fast moving heart and clambered to his feet.

"I… er, Ginny? I'll walk with you."

She looked up at him, then at Ron and Hermione, who both nodded encouragingly. Harry took her hand and helped her up, leading her toward the back door that led to the yard where the wall leading to Diagon Alley stood.

"I never told you," Harry began, reluctantly blushing. "How nice you looked tonight."

Ginny smiled genuinely.

"Thank you, Harry."

"And I… er…" It was his turn to pull at his collar, loosing his tie. He tugged so hard in fact, that it nearly came completely undone. Ginny laughed silently, reaching up and used her delicate hands to fix it for him. He could feel a pleasant shudder go down his spine as he felt her soft skin brush against his neck, straightening his tie. Her smile continued, and Harry melted at the sight.

"You… uhm… are going to write me, too, right?" she asked quietly.

"Of course." Harry said.

Ginny nodded and folded her hands again, staring slowly into his face. It was at that moment when Harry noticed the real pain behind her eyes, and it tore at his heart.

"Ginny, I have something for you too."

She watched silently as he shakily reached into his robe pocket and pulled out the small white box with red ribbon. Harry hesitated as she looked at him, wonderingly, until he took her hands and placed it gently in her right palm. Slowly, she pulled at the ribbon and removed the lid, and gasped.

Inside was a golden heart shaped locket on a long, golden chain. Harry noticed her hands beginning to shake as well, and he promptly reached into the box and took the locket out. He took a deep breath as he opened the heart for her, and watched her eyes closely as she read the inscription inside:

Always in my heart, no matter how far apart

"Oh, Harry…"

"While I may be far away for a long time, I'll always think of you." He whispered, unclasping the chain and slipping it around her neck. The locket fell to the center of her chest, catching the light of the moon upon it. Ginny took in a deep breath, and Harry looked in her eyes to see tears glistening at the corners. She fell into his arms, and he held her, stroking her shoulder length red hair gently.

"Come back to me, Harry." She whispered into his shoulder.

He slowly pulled her from him and bent down to look straight into her eyes.

"I promise."

She couldn't hold it in, and began to cry, her tears washing over his fingers. He brushed them aside and put his lips up to hers, and her quiet sobs ceased. It took all his energy not to fall apart himself, and it was only the taste of her lips against his that kept him together. He wanted nothing more than to stand there with her in his arms, under the bright moon, but like all good things- it couldn't last. They finally drew apart, Harry cupping her chin in his palm delicately. She brought up her hand to rest on his wrist, and slowly pulled it away.

Harry lay awake that night, the light from the moon streaming across his bed. His heart was so strained that he could hardly remember what happened after he and Ginny left to go back inside to Hermione and Ron. All he could remember was her face, her tear stained eyes, and her soft warmth as he held her. Hermione was just as tearful, and almost ran from Ron when they finally had to part. Both he and Ron tried to console each other with the notion of coming back for the holidays, but they both knew that it wouldn't happen. The Royal Aurors Society was desperately training its men and women to work against Voldemort, Dumbledore himself overlooking the progress. They wouldn't be home until Voldemort was dead… and Harry knew that he himself was the key to that. Both Dumbledore and the head of the Society met with him privately toward the end of the school year, practically telling him that he _had_ to become an auror- for his father was a powerful auror, and Harry was proving to be very powerful as well. It was then that he found out just why his parents were killed, and why Voldemort wanted him so. For James Potter had been very close to killing Voldemort himself, before he got too powerful. Voldemort vowed to kill him and his son, but the rest, as they say, is history. Now, Harry has the power to overcome Voldemort again, and be rid of him forever. But it was going to be a long and painful journey.

He turned on his side and willed to fall asleep, dreading the dreams that were to come. But as the silence of the night threatened to deafen him, Harry could just hear Ron in the other room… quiet sobs seeping through the wall. Ron knew what they were doing as well, and Harry allowed a single tear to drop onto his pillow.

_Tomorrow… tomorrow my life truly begins._

****

Author's Note: Well, I'll work with Timothy when I can, but right now the mind is on this story (which I'm sure a lot of you are happy about). This will not be romance, really, the bit of what you read in this chapter is only a portion of the entire story (important, but not the central theme). My first time with the H/G relation… if you ask me, writing R/Hrm is a lot easier! Please be sure to stop by [http://www.theworldofreneepotter.disneyfansites.com][1] for updates on this story and a lot of other stuff I'm up to. And as for that essay I promised you…

From A Wizard's Dozen: Stories of the Fantastic

**__**

What is a wizard?

A wizard is a mage, a wonder maker, a person who injects a jolt of the marvelous into the everyday. There are wizards everywhere, though these days they've traded in their magic shops and their spellbooks for the libraries and storybooks. Today's wizards wield paintbrushes or pens or typewriters or computers instead of wands. Some may have long white beards, but most do not. Today's wizards come in all ages, all genders, all colors and shapes. They are the authors and artists who work with stories of the fantastic. What they have is vision and- more importantly- they can share that vision with others. They enable us to see a little farther, to see a little deeper.

It is no small gift.

Some people, recognizing the power of these everyday mages, try to limit their magic. They try to keep the magic out of their lives. So they rail against the malicious influence of certain kinds of literature. They denigrate it, remove it from their libraries. In other words, the ban it.

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Kinda reminds you of the HP book wars still being raged? And even all the fantasy books who have suffered because of the people who refuse to see the creative magic. I hope you liked the summary. Do tell me what you think and leave a review.

__

"We can be anything. Maybe this entire experience is a series of lessons to learn that you can- yes, you can." -Maya Angelou

~OrcaPotter

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   [1]: http://www.theworldofreneepotter.disneyfansites.com/



	3. Training

Chapter Two ****

Author's Note: Welcome to chapter two, peeps! I do hope you enjoy, for while I should have been doing my economics report on Barnes & Noble, I wrote this instead because I'm a rebel when it comes to homework J Anyway, _please_ review this when you're through- I added some thank you's at the bottom for those of you who do!

**__**

Special Thanks: To my beta-readers, 007 and RavenNat.

****

Chapter Two

Training

"Harry! Wake up, Harry! We've got five minutes until our port key becomes valid!"

Harry's eyes slowly opened, squinting immediately in the morning light streaming from the window of his rented room. Hedwig was preening herself on his dresser across from him, ruffling her feathers when another loud knock on his door threatened to unhinge the bolts.

"Harry, if we're late because of you I'll shrink your head! And I thought _I _was bad!"

Realization suddenly hit Harry and he cursed out loud, causing Hedwig to hoot reprovingly. He flew out of bed, grabbed his wand, magicked his clothes on, and tried to groom himself approvingly.

"You up yet?!" Ron yelled from behind the door.

"Yes! I'll be right out!" Harry cried while trying to shave. He hastily finished, threw all of his unpacked things back in his trunk, and ran to the door.

"'Bout time." Ron crossed his arms.

"Ron! You're still in your _pajamas_! I thought we had five minutes!" Harry cried angrily as he looked him over. Ron's eyes went wide with embarrassment, looking for an excuse.

"Well, I er… I've been trying to get you up all this time!"

"Hurry up, then, you git! Where's our acceptance letters with the instructions?" Harry tossed his belongings into the hall.

"In my room, hold on I'll get them."

Ron went about getting himself ready as Harry read over the instructions on getting themselves to the Society headquarters.

ROYAL AURORS SOCIETY

Instructions for trainees arrival at headquarters

New trainees will find their port key attached to their acceptance letter. The designated time for departure is indicated on the port key. Before departing, place no more than one trunk containing personal items close to departure site- luggage will be transported separately to trainee's quarters. Upon arrival, please report to the mess hall.

"Where's the port key, Ron?" Harry asked, putting the letter aside.

"The paper clip." Ron called from the bathroom.

"Are you ready?" Harry looked dubiously at the paper clip attached to the letter.

"Yeah, let me just put my trunk next to yours." Ron pushed his trunk alongside Harry's and set Pig's cage atop it. Harry called to Hedwig and she flew into her cage, Harry putting it on top of his own trunk.

"We should say goodbye to Tom first, and thank him." Harry suggested. 

"Right, yeah."

"Good luck, you two." Tom cried from behind them, coming up the stairs.

Harry and Ron smiled and waved.

"Thanks for everything, Tom." Harry said.

"No problem, anytime." He smiled at them.

"Dad took care of the bill, right?" Ron asked.

"He put it on your newly formed tab." Tom grinned as Ron glowered in response.

"Right, then. Good bye, Tom!" Harry said, grabbing the paper clip. Ron did so as well, and in a moment the familiar pulling at their midpoints drew them into the all too familiar swirling vortex toward the paperclip's center.

"Be careful… and come back soon." Tom said, watching the two young men disappear, closely followed by their trunks and owls.

*

Harry wasn't particularly fond of traveling by port key, but it was easier than the Floo Network. They couldn't apparate there, for safety purposes no one could apparate or disapparate anywhere near the Society headquarters. It wasn't long before the swirling of Harry's vision cleared and he found himself standing wearily beside Ron in front of a massive collegian looking building.

"Boy, am I glad I didn't eat breakfast before we left… otherwise I think I would have tossed my cookies by now." Ron ran a hand through his hair.

"You would think you would be used to it." Harry looked at him, only vaguely aware that his trunk and Hedwig were not beside him. He then remembered that his things would be automatically transported to his quarters and that he and Ron were to report to the mess hall.

"Well, let's move on, shall we?" Ron straightened his robes and walked up the steps to the building. Harry followed and caught up with him, and they both opened the massive front doors to face an awesome sight.

There were wizards and witches _everywhere_. A huge vaulted ceiling lobby lay in front of them, where people were moving everywhere dressed in dark navy blue wizarding robes embroidered with a royal crown on the front left side. Harry and Ron stood there, awestruck, watching wizards at desks giving assignments to aurors that lined up in front- looking determined and rushed. The din of voices echoed of the marble walls and for that moment Harry was only aware of the sight in front of him.

"Excuse me, move along. New recruits to the mess hall."

A guard, dressed in black wizarding robes with the same royal symbol, was poking at Harry with his wand. When Harry turned to face him, the guard saw the flash of his scar as his bangs parted slightly and gasped.

"Mr. Potter! Oh, sir, we've been expecting you! Please forgive my rudeness."

Ron rolled his eyes and didn't say anything. Harry merely nodded, used to the reaction.

"Could you point us in the direction of the mess hall, sir?" He asked politely.

"Oh, you can call me Pete. The name's Pete Dole, Mr. Potter. I'll be glad to show you the way." Pete smiled, pocketing his wand and walking to their right toward a large hall brimming with other wizards.

"Thank you, Pete. Just call me Harry, and this is my best friend Ron Weasley. I guess we'll be seeing you often." Harry motioned for Ron to follow as Pete lead the way.

"Glad to meet you, Ron. Yes, I never forget the name that goes with the face. I know each and every man and woman here at the society. I'm head guard and watch the lobby. Have been for the past twenty five years." Pete said, clearing a path through the bustle of aurors in the hall, some stopping to stare as Harry went past.

Harry considered Pete for a moment. He was completely gray haired, not much taller than Harry, and had plenty of wrinkles to tell his age.

"My father was an auror," Harry said. "Did you happen to know him?"

"Yes, I had the honor of knowing your father, James. Why, I have a hard time trying to tell myself that you're his son and not him himself! You look the spitting image." Pete turned back and smiled at him kindly.

They walked past a door that had opened abruptly and there were several wizards and witches running out as if for their lives before an explosion blew the door clear across the hall and into the wall.

"What the…?" Ron shouted, jumping as black smoke billowed out of the room. A particularly tall wizard walked out waving the smoke from his face and coughing. His face as black with ash, and his apparent students were scowling at him from a safe distance. The wizard smiled sheepishly.

"Oh, that's the experimental curses class. You'll be in there soon enough." Pete laughed, leading them further.

"How long are we going to be in training, Pete, before we go out to work?" Harry asked, walking closer to him.

"One year with the books and one year in the field with a senior auror. After that you'll be partnered and given your first assignment. It all goes real quick, though… especially these days. Ah, here's where I leave you."

Pete stopped in front of some large double doors where a large crowd of people Harry and Ron's age were waiting inside. 

"I'll be seeing you." Pete smiled and walked off.

"Well, here goes nothing." Ron grinned, pushing Harry in.

They walked up an isle between dining tables and chairs filled with eager looking young adults much like themselves. Harry kept his face low, not wanting so much attention on the first day. But it was no use; someone noticed.

"Hey! Hey, Harry! Harry Potter! Over here, Harry!"

Gasps and comments immediately broke out, people straining their necks to see over others to catch a glimpse of him. Ron began to chuckle and Harry elbowed him a little too hard.

"Harry!"

He looked up to see someone shoving their way through the crowd. People cursed and shouted, knocked over chairs, and made threats as a very short man forced his way toward him. He had spiky red hair and millions of freckles, it seemed. Ron looked down on him like an eagle spotting a guppy in a stream.

"Harry Potter! Oh my God! I can't believe I'll be an auror with _Harry Potter_! Of course you'd be an auror! You're going to save the world again! Oh my… oh my…" The man reached up and grabbed Harry's reluctant hand.

"Er… do I know you?" Harry tried to pull away, but the man had a considerable strength for one so small.

"Want me to step on him?" Ron whispered in Harry's ear.

"Not yet."

"Oh, do forgive me! No, of course you wouldn't know me! But, I'm your biggest fan! Oh, my… I can't believe I've finally got to meet you, Mr. Potter. An honor it is… a special honor…" The man was practically giddy with joy.

"Okay, now you can step on him." Harry whispered back to Ron, managing to pull his hand from the man's grip.

"Gentlemen and ladies! If you would please direct your attention up here, we can begin the orientation." Said a booming voice from the front of the mess hall.

"Up… time to start. Sorry, bye bye." Harry grabbed Ron's shoulder and sped off to find available two seats as far away from the man as possible.

"I'll be seeing you, then!" the man cried, immediately getting lost in the crowd.

"Remind me to stay away from that guy." Harry muttered to Ron.

"One minute more and I really _would_ have stepped on him; he was annoying me, too."

"Welcome to the Royal Aurors Society," a tall, burly looking wizard announced from a stage set up at the front of the mess hall. "In a few moments, you'll be going back through those double doors and out to your quarters. Get used to them- they'll be your homes for the next year. You'll find your belongings already there and three sets of trainee uniforms. You are trainees, and trainee uniforms are crimson in color. Graduate from scholastic training, and you become apprenticed to a senior auror- apprentices wear forest green. Once your senior auror deems you ready to pronounce you an auror yourself- you'll gain the traditional navy blue uniform of a full-fledged auror. The board in the trainee lobby will list your classes. Any questions?"

The hall was silent.

"The career you've chosen is a difficult and dangerous one. There is no room for careless mistakes. The dark lord is out there, growing stronger day by day. His minions are wrecking so much havoc that it takes our entire force of aurors to keep them at bay. In two year's time, you'll be out there on your own. You're fighting for the right for peace and righteousness. You're protecting our country- and the world as well. If we work together and do our best, perhaps we can destroy You-Know-Who before it's too late.

"Well, classes start at seven AM sharp tomorrow morning! Dismissed!"

Everyone leapt to their feet, Harry and Ron following suit. Harry tried his best to blend in, but even though the small man was no where to be seen, he still got plenty of curious looks from the other trainees.

"Oh man! If classes start at seven, that means we have to get up at six every morning!" Ron complained as they filed out of the mess hall.

"Don't worry, if you oversleep, I'll hex you out of bed." Harry teased.

"Not before I magic your eyelids shut." Ron countered.

"I'd like to see you try."

"Alright then."

"Okay."

"Harry?"

"Hmm?"

"I have a feeling our lives are going to get turned upside down."

"And we haven't even started yet."

*

The following morning, both Harry and Ron managed to get up on time and dress in their new RAS trainee crimson uniforms. The now familiar embroidered royal crown donned the left corner next to a white colored "T". Harry looked himself over in the mirror, his mind wandering on just how far he had come from the scrawny little boy that once lived in a cupboard under the stairs, all alone and unloved. Now, here he was, a fully-grown healthy adult back in the world he had been torn from as an infant. He was even at the start of the very role his father had, and Harry couldn't help but feel a shadow of grief at what his father would think if he were alive.

"Are you done flirting with yourself, now? I'd like to use the mirror sometime too, you know."

Ron sleepily pushed Harry aside and straightened his uniform. Harry sighed and looked around the small room that was their quarters. Just a bunk bed and two dressers, along with the one mirror and small window. Hedwig was perched in her cage alongside Ron's Pig. Both had their heads tucked under their wings in sleep, and Harry envied them.

"I hope that guy doesn't show up again." He wished aloud.

"With the way he idolizes you, I doubt you've seen the last of him." Ron said over his shoulder. "Okay, I'm ready. Let's go."

They joined up with the other trainees in the small lobby that was their own, a smaller building apart from the main one where they had arrived. A large board outside the cafeteria held parchment with names where everyone was fighting to see.

"Our classes." Ron said unnecessarily.

"Hey! Harry!"

"My fan." Harry muttered exasperatedly.

"Harry! Harry, guess what! We have our first class… _together_!" People were roughly thrown aside as the man rushed to meet up with Harry.

"Hide me. Now. Please." Harry tugged on Ron's sleeve.

"Er…" Ron looked around, grimacing as the man drew closer. "Uh, oh hey everyone! Everyone, look! Oh my gosh, it's… it's…! Quick, Harry, name a celebrity!"

"Uh, Brittany Spears!"

"Hey everyone! Look! It's Brittany Spears!" Ron bellowed, causing people to look in every direction and making the crowd swallow the small man with a yelp.

"Brittany who?"

"Bar-B-Q spears? Is that for lunch?"

Ron looked at Harry, who shrugged back.

"Brittany Spears? Who's that?"

"A famous Muggle singer. Very attractive and very annoying." Harry searched for any sign of the man, but the crowd was in such confusion over the foreign name that anyone as small as that guy would have been trampled. 

"Let's look at the board while we can." Ron pulled Harry with him to the bulletin board.

"Harry!" Someone small jumped out of nowhere into Harry's path.

"AHH!"

"Harry Potter! Oh, I almost missed you in the crowd! Did you hear me? We have our first class together! Isn't that terrific?" the little man jumped on his heels. Ron fought very hard to keep a straight face. Harry was itching to hex this man away forever.

"Listen… er… what's your name?"

The man looked shell-shocked.

"Oh my God! Can you believe it? I never… you don't… oh, my. My name… my name… my name…" the man was so excited he couldn't remember anything. He just stood in front of Harry, mouth gaping open and eyes glazed over.

"This is so scary, it's sick." Ron whispered. "But it's still funny."

Harry was about to loose it.

"What. Is. Your. _Name_?" he leaned down close and fixed him with his most powerful stare. But it proved to make matters worse, for the man took one look and flat-out fainted.

"This is so ridiculous. Never has anything like this happened!" Harry threw up his arms in frustration, ignoring the crumpled body.

"Ah, Mr. Potter!"

"WHAT?!" Harry whirled around, only to look up into the face of an older wizard he had never seen before. He immediately turned bright red and felt himself whither to the ground.

"Am I interrupting something?" the wizard asked flatly.

"Oh, oh, no sir." Harry squeaked, almost stepping on the fainted man. The older wizard looked down and noticed with a gasp.

"What happened?" he asked, bending down to pull the man up.

"Well, er… this man here has been following me around, and when we met up just now he fainted."

"Ah, so you've met Mr. Noin." The wizard nodded with a level of relief.

"Mr. Noin? So that's his name." Harry sighed.

"Richard Noin. Yes, quite an exuberant fellow. He'll be alright. I'm Alex Walt, by the way. I'll be your instructor for some of your courses this year."

"Oh, nice to meet you, sir." Harry and Ron said in union.

Walt laughed and patted Harry on the shoulder.

"Looks like you two should be getting on to… ah, Basic Hex Blocking 101. Class starts in four minutes. I'll be seeing you, then. Mr. Noin should be joining up with you shortly."

He walked off, having had put a spell on Noin so that he floated alongside him to the sick bay. Harry and Ron groaned, checking the board for the classroom location and heading off themselves.

"Which do you think is worse to be chased by? An evil, power-lusting egotistical murderer or an idolizing lifeless yuppie?" Harry asked gruffly as they walked toward the classrooms.

"Well, you're dead with the first option… and the second would just make you want to be dead. So, either way, your life is screwed up." Ron muttered.

Harry moaned loudly.

"Look at the bright side, though!" Ron clapped him on the shoulder. "You've got me to suffer with you! I'm either too nice of a guy or a complete idiot."

That got Harry to laugh, and they both broke out into laughter as they walked into class.

*

Harry couldn't believe how difficult it was. For the following six months, he and Ron spent at least twelve hours a day on the work assigned from their various classes. Basic Hex Blocking 101 evolved into Advanced Hex Blocking before long. Spell Encoding, Spell Breaking, Spell Casting, Self Defense of the Magical Kind, and Curse Defying were just a few of the tedious courses that Harry had to go through. However, he found himself exceptionally powerful in all his classes, and it was easy with hard work to pass with flying colors. Ron, however, had a more difficult time. They both studied together in a secluded space on the grounds where Richard Noin couldn't find them.

Richard Noin. Once he had regained consciousness on the first day, he tried desperately to stick to Harry like a second shadow. Noin's life passion was to live up to Harry's stature as a famous wizard. He always waited for him and Ron by the bulletin board, asked to sit with them at meals even though every time they denied him flat out, followed Harry up and down hallways, and made excuses to join him on assignments that took Harry to different places around the grounds. Each time Harry turned to look down on him, Noin's eyes would go huge and glassy like an animated character's. Ron did his best to use his height to intimidate him, but Noin ignored him like a cow in a pasture. After the eighth month came upon them, Harry couldn't take it anymore.

"There has _got_ to be something I can do to get that twit off my back!" Harry pulled at his hair before Curses In Context class began one day. Noin had just run off to the storage room to refill Harry's inkwell.

"You could ask him to get more ink when he comes back, I need some too." Ron said, peering into his empty well.

"We won't be needing ink today, anyway." Harry muttered, crossing his arms over his desk. "Remember? We're heading into the seriously major stuff, now. I'm… well, we're…"

"Don't worry about it. It's not like… er… you've never _seen_ it before." Ron whispered carefully.

"Yes, but… but now I'll be learning them to _use_ them if necessary. I… I don't think I could ever…" Harry swallowed hard.

"You-Know-Who is not going to be defeated with the jelly-legs spell, Harry. We have to fight fire with fire. Besides, it's not like we'll be using them everyday. The average Death Eater is too stupid to do anything more than knock you down." Ron said, looking up quickly as a loud thump and clatter broke the usual mumble of the other trainees.

"Oh, dear me! I'm alright, I'm alright!" Noin had stumbled into the classroom too fast and fell flat on his face, the filled inkwell now spilled all over himself. "Er… I'll just go back and refill this again."

"Mr. Noin, we need to get started." Mr. Phelps, the course teacher, informed him.

"I'll just be a minute, sir. It's for Harry Potter." He disappeared back out of the room. Harry went a bright shade of scarlet as everyone rolled their eyes at him.

"You would think I'd be used to this." Harry grumbled miserably, sinking in his seat.

"If you're lucky, Phelps will choose him for the demonstration." Ron grinned mischievously.

"That's horrible of you." Harry shook his head. "But not a bad idea."

The door slammed open and Noin came running in, panting and doubled over, as he gently placed the inkwell in front of Harry.

"Your… ink… Harry. Don't… mention… it."

Harry tried very hard not to bare his teeth at him like a dog.

"Back, boy… back…" Ron grabbed his collar.

"Richard Noin, do sit down!" Mr. Phelps bellowed, tapping his wand on the table in front of him.

Scuttling like a crab, Noin plopped down in his seat across from Harry. Everyone stifled laughter while Harry and Ron scowled.

"Right then, people. You all are entering the most rigorous part of your training year. What we are about to cover is the most serious knowledge that an auror must know… for this is what the enemy is known for. If you're lucky, you'll never use the following curses I'm about to teach you. To use them, however, is only under the most desperate circumstances. Use them otherwise, and you will get a life sentence in Azkaban. I'm talking, as you should already know, about the three Unforgivable Curses."

The entire room was silent. Harry felt beads of sweat break out on his neck and a shiver run up his spine. He remembered very well the day he first had seen the three Unforgivable Curses demonstrated. The day he found out exactly how his parents were murdered. Then, not much longer after that, he witnessed the most deadly of the curses used on a fellow Hogwarts student- killed instantly. That was how Voldemort rose back to power. The memory still haunted Harry deeply. He was dreading this part of his auror training- and it was his only argument about not becoming an auror. But it was this guilt he felt that convinced him to go ahead with his career… for he can make it right again, even if he had to use the same curse.

"We will begin by going over the rules…"

*

Later that night, Harry spread out on his stomach over his bed, taking out a roll of parchment and a quill. Hedwig flew in from the open window and settled herself into the small of his back. He smiled at her comfort and turned his attention back down to his parchment.

"Let's see…"

He looked over at his small dresser and at the large stack of letters he had received since arriving at the Society. A lot of them were from the Weasleys, mainly Mrs. Weasley, who was worried sick about them both. There were a couple of postcards from Fred and George, updating Harry on their success. Ron wasn't too excited when one of his postcards came attached to another potato, while Harry had a five-cent American wizard coin attached to his.

"Worthless here, anyway." Ron had grumbled, tossing the potato out the window- that landed respectfully on Noin's head. He and Harry had a fit of laughter that lasted nearly an hour. 

Yet the smaller stack of letters, put off to the side where they were least likely to be damaged, were from Ginny. She didn't write him very often, but when she did, they were very long and detailed. He treasured every one, and made sure to find the time to write her back just as much. It was this letter he was poised to write, that was for her.

"If I tell her about what we're studying now, she'll worry even more than her mum." Harry said to Hedwig. She hooted sleepily in response, then tucked her head back under her wing.

"Maybe if I use a lot of big words, it'll fill in the gaps." He thought a moment. "Er… if I knew a lot of big words. Literature was not my best subject when I was small."

He dabbed his quill in his inkwell, hovered over the parchment to begin, when there was a loud rap at the door.

"Yes?" Harry asked tersely.

"It's me, Ron."

"Well, come on in… it's your room too, no need to knock." Harry laughed.

Ron opened the door and stepped inside. His expression immediately made Harry put his writing supplies aside and stand up, causing Hedwig to tumble off him. She hooted angrily and went to perch on the windowsill.

"Harry, the head of the Society wants to meet with you. Now." Ron got straight to the point.

"What? Why?" Harry grabbed his wand.

"Not sure. Phelps just came to me as I was coming in from sending Pig off with a letter in the courtyard and told me to tell you. He… well, it sounds important and urgent. You need to go right away."

"Okay. But, where is it? The head's office." Harry walked out of the room, followed by Ron.

"Not sure. You can go to the main lobby and ask Pete. He'll know for sure and take you there."

Harry paused and looked back at Ron, trying to read his expression. He decided he'd rather not and just get it over with, smiling uncertainly and left the building. There was no one else about as he nearly jogged to the main lobby, hoping to catch Pete. He didn't allow himself to wonder, for if he did, Harry was sure he would be late in seeing the head of the Society.

The lobby was nearly empty when he jogged to a stop inside. However, Pete was clearly visible, standing by his post next to the large front doors.

"'Evening, Mr. Potter." Pete smiled.

"Oh, Pete… hello. I wonder, could you show me to the head's office by any chance?" Harry came up to him.

Pete laughed heartily.

"Of course, Harry! Remember who you're asking!"

"Right, how silly of me." Harry tried to hide his anxiety.

The wizened guard led him in the opposite direction of the trainee area, to the other side of the main building where Harry had yet to be in. It was apparent, seeing the various locked personnel doors and offices, that this wing was where all the aurors resided when not out in the field.

Harry looked around, studying his surroundings. _I'll be working here someday… someday soon_. 

Pete, apparently, took notice of the unusual silence and looked at Harry closely.

"You know, you've grown so since I first met you."

Harry laughed shakily, distracted by his worry.

"Seriously. This job throws the years on you quick, even when you haven't even started yet. Be careful, Harry… don't let the job destroy yourself." Pete said solemnly, and turned his attention back to the empty hall.

"Which should I be more worried about? My job or my enemy?" Harry asked him as they stopped in front of a large office door.

"That, I'll let for you to decide. I'm only a lowly guard." And Pete smiled, patted him on the back, and left Harry standing in front of his fate.

He watched him leave, before turning back to the door and reading the nameplate:

MAXWELL MORO

Royal Aurors Society Head

Taking a deep breath, Harry knocked twice and the door swung open.

"Come in, Mr. Potter, come in."

The office he stepped into was huge, the walls lined with bookcases that reached the ceiling and stuffed with large volumes of dusty leather bound books. A large fireplace crackled in a corner with the portrait of a very esteemed looking old wizard hung proudly above the mantle. Harry recognized him as Mortimus Nookshock, the founder of the Royal Aurors Society in 800 A.D. from his history course.

"A genius of a wizard, Nookshock was." Said a tired voice. The man sitting behind a large desk completely covered in parchment was the same tall, burly wizard that had welcomed them on their first day more than eight months prior. Up close, Harry felt his eyes studying him, as if sizing him up before a fight. 

"Nice to personally meet you, Mr. Potter. I am, as you know, Maxwell Moro. Your grades are exceptional, as expected." Moro's voice was cool and collective.

"Thank you, sir." Harry colored slightly.

"I'm going to be blunt with you, Harry. I didn't call you here to flatter you. Do sit down." He pointed to the armchair in front of his desk and Harry obliged, feeling his palms begin to sweat.

"You know very well the current situation, do you not?"

Harry nodded.

"Well, things have gotten worse. I have every able man and woman out there in the field… and we're not doing so well. You-Know-Who has got his minions trained very well, these days. We're having a harder time keeping them back. The Muggles have taken notice, and the Ministry is also at its wit's end keeping them under control. There… there have even been some deaths."

The silence that followed was so profound that Harry had to clear his throat to break the uneasiness.

"You've been told, I assume, that your father was one of the best aurors this Society has ever seen. He was one of very few that You-Know-Who was afraid of. That's… well, that didn't stop him. Since you've been here, you've lived up to your father's name. As we all knew you would. Your power is incredible, Harry. It's apparent to me, and to others in high places, that you are his only match- as was your father. You're coming upon your prime, and while so you are nearly unstoppable. It's impeccable that you're out there on our side as soon as possible. But to wait for your year of training here to be complete may take too long. We don't have much time.

"So, as of now, I have come to the conclusion that you have passed your required courses of study in magical defense, strategy, history, and law with the highest honor. You are hereby upgraded to apprentice status, and your assigned mentor will meet with you first thing tomorrow morning. Pack your things and prepare to move afterwards." Moro looked down at some parchment on his desk and began to shuffle them. Harry merely stared at him at a loss for words.

"Yes, Mr. Potter?"

"I'm… I'm not sure I…" Harry stuttered.

"Yes you are. You have always been. Ever since you gained that lightning bolt scar." Moro pointed at his head. He sighed and leaned back into his chair. "You're our only hope, Harry. Just promise me that you'll try."

Harry stared at him for a long time.

"Do I have a choice?"

*

"So, I was right."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked wearily, dropping down on his bed after returning.

"You're going." Ron said solemnly.

"Yes."

"Already."

"I've been graduated."

"I'm surprised they didn't make you skip the schooled training all together." Ron said quietly, looking out their small window.

"Things have gotten much worse, you know." Harry sighed.

"Yes. I've been reading Hermione's columns. She's doing a good job for herself." Ron looked back at him.

"That's not surprising." Harry smiled slightly.

"It's not surprising that you're going now, either." Ron retorted. "Do you know who you'll be partnered with?"

"No. Whoever it is, I meet with him tomorrow morning with my things. When they say partnered, they mean partnered. I have to stay with him all the time- I'll be staying at his place. For an entire year… or, until they graduate me early again." Harry pulled out his trunk as Hedwig watched curiously from her perch on his dresser.

"Well, let's look at the bright side… you won't have to deal with Noin anymore." Ron smiled at last.

"At least until he's become a fully approved auror… if that ever happens." Harry smiled back.

"When monkeys start to fly out of my butt."

"Careful what you say… with magic, it's possible." Harry laughed.

"Eww, now that's just wrong." Ron began to crack up.

They laughed together for the rest of the evening, remembering old times. Harry found it harder and harder to think about the coming day. He knew that he and Ron would be separated for a time in training to become aurors, but he didn't expect it so soon. The thought of losing his best friend for a compete stranger and hurling himself out into the world where his life would be challenged slowly caused his cheer to ebb. Ron was obviously feeling the same way, for as they lay in their beds that night, they could hear each other's thoughts.

"We'll be together again, Ron." Harry whispered.

"Yeah."

"I won't be gone forever."

Ron didn't answer.

****

Author's Note: Well, what did you think? Sorry if I "rushed" him through school, but I am an impatient person when it comes to detail and with my workload… boredom comes easily. Do review and let me know what you think so far- reviews are very important to me! I'd like to thank my reviewers for chapter 1:

Raew- Look for chapter 11 of SoY sometime this summer, maybe sooner.

Mike [Merfyman@home.com][1] -See above! Thanks for reading!

Trinity- I always love and look forward to your reviews, thanks!

Anytime- Glad you like it!

Pheonix Dirk- Going as fast as I can!

Sakura- Thank you J 

debra- I live for suspense, muhahahaha!

Fallen Grace- I'm glad you think so, I hope it is!

Moi- Gracias J 

Guy Fawkes- Thank you, I'm happy you think so.

dd- More comes at least once a week, I wish more!

Sabecat- I got better? ::grins:: Good! That's what I want!

Azaris [mnd9999@prin.edu][2] –Thank you very much, I like to think of it as my most powerful so far

Suzybeth- As long as the questions are not based off of confusion, leaving you asking for more is what an author strives for

t- Interesting signature J 

Nimph- I hope you like my other fics, but this one is one of my favs.

Well, that about does it for the thanks part, I've never done it before- but I like to keep in touch with you guys. You can keep up with all my work and see a lot more stuff at my websiteà [][3]http://www.theworldofreneepotter.disneyfansites.com I updated the "what to read after hp" page with new books for you! I'm gonna go now, but you review and I'll get back to you at the end of chapter 3, okay! I'll cya!

"History is much like an endless waltz. The three beats of war, peace, and revolution continue on forever."

-Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz

~OrcaPotter

OrcaMorph@aol.com

   [1]: mailto:Merfyman@home.com
   [2]: mailto:mnd9999@prin.edu
   [3]: http://www.theworldofreneepotter.disneyfansites.com/



	4. Discovery

Author's Note: Welcome to chapter three, although it's a little late ****

Author's Note:Welcome to chapter three, although it's a little late. But, I do believe that what you're about to read will make up for it, though! ::smiles:: One thing before you start- Homestead is the city south of Miami that was hit the hardest by Hurricane Andrew back in the early '90s. And the name "Moro" will come up early in the chapter, but don't fret if you don't remember him, Moro's role/job is later mentioned. All set? Okay, let's go! Oh, and don't forget to review when you're done!

**__**

Special Thanks: To 007 and RavenNat, my esteemed beta-readers!

****

Chapter Three

Discovery

When he woke up the next morning, rain was pelting hard on the window of the room he shared with Ron. It seemed that Harry had awoken before him, but when he climbed down from the top bunk, Ron was sitting up silently on his bed. Harry looked at him with a mixed expression, but Ron's face was a complete blank.

Hedwig and Pig were unusually quiet as Harry separated them to put Hedwig's cage on top of his trunk. Ron remained silent, his face expressionless, where only his eyes gave away what he was truly feeling inside. Harry couldn't bring himself to speak. This was harder than he expected.

"I'll… er… I'll write." Harry said dryly, pushing his trunk toward the door as he got dressed in the green apprentice robes that had been magically conjured in place of his trainee ones.

"Yeah." Ron grunted, his eyes glossy.

Harry buttoned his collar and looked at him.

"Let's pretend we're just leaving Hogwarts… and we'll see each other in a little while." He suggested mildly.

Ron looked away and sighed.

"I'm nineteen years old, Harry. It gets harder and harder to pretend, these days."

"It won't be for long… you never know, we might meet up at some point soon." Harry hated how this was going. The hurt in his heart for leaving was getting bigger, until he feared he couldn't control it anymore. He put a hand on Ron's arm.

"When I get back… when _we_ get back, I'll make sure we're partners. That way, we won't be gone from each other for too long, anymore."

Ron looked back at him, a single tear in the corner of his eye.

"Well, the sooner you go, the sooner you can come back."

Harry's eyes fell to the floor, and he turned to leave.

"Harry…"

"Yes, Ron?"

"Behave yourself now… don't do anything stupid without me as your brother beside you!"

Harry laughed and cried at the same time. It hurt too much, to leave his best friend. He held out his hand for a handshake, but Ron pulled him into a tight hug.

"Careful out there."

"Don't worry." Harry drew apart.

"I'll see you, then?" Ron called after him as he walked out the door.

"Indefinitely!" Harry called back, and was out of sight.

*

The part of the Society's grounds where he was instructed to go Harry had never been to before. It might of well been the teacher's lounge, for none of the trainees were allowed to go past the hallway where Harry had gone to see the head of the Society just the night before. Pete, as always, led him with his trunk and Hedwig's cage floating silently behind them.

"I'll be missing you, Mr. Potter." Pete smiled sadly back at him.

"Don't worry, Pete. I'll be back before you know it." Harry smiled back. _I hope_, he added mentally.

"Green suits you, anyway." Pete laughed silently, leading Harry, to his surprise, outside under a covered part of sidewalk from the rain.

"You sure you know where we're going?" Harry had to yell over the pounding raindrops and distant roll of thunder.

"Of course! I was instructed specifically to bring you out here. I'm sure you know a water warding charm, for you're gonna have to step off by yourself from here. Just keep going toward the trees, and you'll come to an old schoolhouse that's being used as a conference center. Alright?" Pete cried.

"Yes, I believe so." Harry checked over his things and began to run through his mind to find the charm.

"Good luck, Mr. Potter. Come back to us soon!" He shook his hand and went back inside, closing the door with a slam Harry thought was not intended.

_Well_,_ this is going to prove interesting_. Harry drew out his wand and muttered the right words, conducting the charm around himself and his things. Hedwig hooted timidly.

"It's alright, girl. Don't worry, you won't get wet." He reassured her.

With a deep breath and a last look back at the Society's grand building, Harry stepped out into the rain and walked hastily toward the trees. He didn't allow himself to slow down, for the thunder was growing louder and that meant that lightning wasn't too far away. While he never in his life voiced this feeling to anyone, it didn't surprise him that lightning made him feel uneasy inside. It was just as well to be safe indoors and away from the flash. Hedwig began to hoot again, and Harry picked up his pace. Mud began to slosh over his boots and threatened to stain his new apprentice robes. The small schoolhouse came into view as a single light shown through the window. Relieved, Harry ran the rest of the way to the porch that was covered by an overhang.

Now what? He wasn't sure if he should just go in or knock. Was his teacher waiting for him inside already? Should he wait there under the cover for someone to let him in? He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, unsure.

"For Merlin's sake, get in here!"

Harry jumped. A rough voice came through the door so suddenly that Hedwig started in her cage, banging her wings noisily against the bars.

"Well, come on! Before you catch cold!"

Tentatively, Harry opened the door and squinted as the light hit his eyes. Hastily, he pulled his trunk and Hedwig inside. Closing the door behind him, he looked around for the owner of the voice. The schoolhouse was actually only a single room, with no furniture of any sort. It was empty and musty; obviously it hadn't been used in a while. The light's source was a small fire in a grate on the opposite wall. It was there that he saw the tall, dark and muscular figure.

Harry absentmindedly brushed at his uniform, even though he was completely dry from the water repelling charm. Nervously, he ran his hand through his messy black hair again and looked intently at his personal tutor.

"You're awfully quiet, Harry." Said the man, his back still turned.

"Er…"

"Is that how you greet your godfather?" He turned to look at Harry, revealing a face cast in shadow that held a glint of a smile.

"Sirius!" Harry cried, relief washing over him. "Oh my God! What're you doing here?!"

Sirius laughed and came closer so that Harry could see his face clearly. He was clean shaven and groomed, his hair cropped professionally over his ears. While his eyes were still dark, a small glint of light reflected back as he smiled. His wizarding robes were not of the Society, but black- covering a black dress shirt and tie; his boots blended in perfectly.

"I came here to meet my apprentice. And to see my godson. Fancy that I get to do both at the same time."

"But… you mean _you're_ my senior? How?" Harry asked incredulously.

"I'm not sure how to take that question," Sirius' eyes narrowed at him mockingly. "But, yeah, I'm your senior. Of course you should have known that my career before my little time in Azkaban was an auror, didn't you?"

"You never… no one ever…" Harry shook his head.

"Yes, well… Dumbledore has had me back working for the Society ever since the end of your fourth year. Of course, it's not publicly known still. That filthy rat has eluded being seen all this time. While the searches for me have been called off and a lot of people now know of my innocence, it's still not wise for me to just go parading into headquarters. You won't be needing those, by the way." He pointed at Harry's uniform.

"What? You mean my uniform?" Harry looked at himself.

"As good as you look in it, I'm afraid it stands out a little too much since we're trying to be subtle. As you can see, I've long since lost my uniform." Sirius grinned.

"How come you never told me this in your letters?" Harry asked, pulling his uniform off.

"You know I can't tell you anything like that in a letter. It could have been intercepted." Sirius crossed his arms and leaned up against the wall, peering out the small window.

"So… what now?" Harry threw open his trunk and stuffed his uniform inside, reaching for his normal wizarding robes.

"For now, I get you settled in and we'll contact Moro and Dumbledore. Then we'll get our assignment." Sirius rubbed his hands together.

"Where are you staying?" Harry couldn't believe his luck. He was partnered with his godfather! He'd finally be able to spend time with him like he should have done his entire life.

"Well, I wanted it to be a surprise… but, I guess I have to tell you if you're to apparate there."

"You got your apparating privileges back?"

"Yes, with some governmental manipulation on Dumbledore's part. Otherwise, just think of the name 'Stag's Head' and you'll be there. You know how to shrink your trunk, don't you?" Sirius said.

"Yeah, but I'll have to let Hedwig find her own way… she doesn't particularly care much for being shrunk and stuffed in my pocket." Harry pulled out his wand.

Hedwig, without prompting, got out of her cage and flew to the windowsill. Sirius opened the window just enough for her to go through when the storm subsided enough for safe flying. After a few well-chosen words, Harry's trunk fit nicely in the pocket of his wizarding robes and he stood ready beside his godfather, beaming.

"See you." Sirius grinned, and disappeared with a loud pop.

Harry took one last glance out the window, patted Hedwig, and apparated himself. 

*

Sirius began to worry when Harry didn't show up immediately at his side in the dense forest. While he knew Harry was immensely talented and powerful in magic, he was still young and using apparation with little experience. He almost began to consider going back, when Harry popped up beside him.

"There you are! What took you?" Sirius sighed.

"Sorry, I must even mumble in my mind. Ended up in 'Homestead' instead of 'Stag's Head'." Harry apologized, combing out his hair with his fingers.

"Homestead?"

"Yeah, I think it was Florida, actually. Bunch of palm trees and girls in bikinis." Harry laughed.

"Oh, no wonder, then." Sirius snorted.

"Come off it." Harry punched him in the shoulder playfully. He then took notice of the trees surrounding them and tried to look for any sign of civilization. "Where are we?"

"Stag's Head, like I told you. Here, follow me."

Sirius led him through the forest, each tall tree towering so high that Harry could hardly make out the fluffy clouds above them. There was a distinct smell in the air, too- of seawater. He had no idea where Sirius was taking him. This forest was not familiar. After a short hike up a sloping hill, Harry caught sight of something very odd.

A house made of dark wood was perched on the top of a cliff face, only half of it was hanging off the side of the rock precipice it was on. The whole side that was held up by invisible means (or magical, he figured) was encased with glass windows, instead of wooden walls. Sunlight hit the windows and reflected off of them, hitting Harry's face with a welcoming glow.

"Welcome, to Stag's Head." Sirius said, turning to him.

"It's incredible, Sirius! How'd you come across this? Where exactly are we?" Harry gasped.

"Well, we're in the northern part of Scotland's East Coast. As for how I acquired this place… I… I, built it." Sirius began walking again, heading for a staircase encased in the stone itself, leading up to the house's front porch.

"Built it?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Not too long after your fourth year. Er… the thing is, your dad always talked about living in some remote forest where he could watch the world and no one could watch him. That was… of course… before he fell in love with your mother. So, since I had no place to go, and hiding was my only option, I built this place in his honor. That's where 'Stag's Head' comes from. Plus, I built it with you in mind; there's plenty of room." He led him up the steps.

"I can't believe this. This is incredible!" Harry was in complete awe.

"Yes, it is… if I do say so myself." Sirius threw out his chest and grinned back at him. "And here's lesson number one for my godson and apprentice as an auror: your home is a sacred secret. Absolutely no one is to know where you live. Only those with permission from Moro can know. So, as much as I know you want to tell Ron and your other friends, you must wait until you've gained your auror status and have permission from Moro. Understand?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, sir."

Sirius ruffled his hair, stepping onto the porch.

"If only James could hear… he'd punch you for such formality!" he laughed. They both approached the door, which Harry immediately noticed.

"Did you do this too?"

He pointed at the intricate carving of a stag on the door.

"I'm a regular Bartha Skewert! That witch has got some creative ideas!" Sirius joked.

"Boy, you _are_ old." Harry dodged a blow.

"Funny. I could have you reprimanded for such talk towards your senior!" Sirius pointed his finger at him solemnly, before laughing again and opening the door. 

Inside the house it was warm and inviting, bright and sunny as the sunlight beamed through the enormous walled windows that filtered down the hall that led to the room. Sirius took off his robes and hung it on a coat hanger with two pegs; Harry did the same. Without a word, Sirius went further inside with Harry at his heels. The window walled room held a fantastic view of the coast below… nothing but water beyond the horizon. Sunlight warmed him as Harry drew closer to look out, noticing as he went past that there was a fireplace on the only wall that wasn't a window and two armchairs.

"Can I get you anything, Harry?" Sirius called from behind him. Harry turned to see him peering from a small room that branched off from the windowed one- the kitchen.

"Er… sure. I'll have some tea, if you don't mind."

"Don't mention it. This house is as much yours as it is mine, so whatever you want- take it. No need to ask. Just remember who I am and what you are, though."

Harry beamed, thrilled to be alive. A house to share with his godfather- a home to call his own. Never before had he felt so happy, not even at Hogwarts.

Sirius showed him the rest of the house, which had two bedrooms and two baths, an office, and a large empty room that he hadn't found a use for. Despite the house's size, he had it sparsely furnished- since he was living alone and adding one more male did not make much of a difference. Harry didn't care though, it was heaven to him. His mind swam with the notion that only hours earlier, he had felt depressed and scared of his future- which, even though his work would be dangerous, now looked bright and promising. Gratefully, he let Sirius help him unpack in his new room, which was ten times larger than what he ever had at Privet drive. There was an enormous window, with drapes so thin and wispy that they didn't prevent the sunny light that brightened the room. His bed was conservative, yet comfortable as he sat down for a moment. On the large dresser he placed all the framed photos he owned and all of his Quidditch trophies. Harry stepped back to admire his new room with a contented sigh.

By that evening, Sirius had contacted Moro and Dumbledore. They were to meet the following morning to discuss their first action. Harry only felt slightly nervous, but sitting with his godfather in front of their warm fire, with the dotted starlit sky seeping through the windowed walls, everything was as it should have been at the time. But, there was one thing missing… Ron- and, he thought a moment longer… Ginny.

*

"Mr. Black… Mr. Potter… good to see you again."

Harry and Sirius stood before the Royal Aurors Society head and Professor Dumbledore in Dumbledore's office at Hogwarts. It had been nearly a year since Harry had left the school, and visiting it again brought back fond memories- and ones he'd rather not remember. He and Sirius had entered the grounds and castle by secret means, so that no one would see them. Harry wasn't even entirely sure how they got in… Sirius nearly pulled him along and he had a hard time noticing just how they were moving. All he knew was that at that moment he stood facing his superiors, waiting for his first taste at being a true auror.

"How are you, Harry?" Professor Dumbledore asked kindly.

"Never better, sir." Harry smiled back.

"Glad to hear it. I trust you and your senior are getting on well?" Dumbledore's eyes sparkled with humor.

Harry grinned at Sirius. "Yeah, he's alright."

"I believe I can handle this young hooligan." Sirius smiled mischievously back.

"Well then, gentlemen. Can we get on to business?" Moro interrupted with a slightly annoyed tone.

"Certainly." Dumbledore nodded.

"Thank you. Well, I've just gotten word from Fletcher. He's been tracking some Death Eater movements just out of Oxford and reports have been saying that they're planning another attack. It's not known whom it is they're targeting. Fletcher has requested that I give him backup. We need to know who they're after and get them to safety before anything happens. Then some of us will go in and lay an ambush. Hopefully we can avoid any casualties and major damage without the Muggles noticing. Are you up to it, Black?" Moro said.

"Sounds like a reasonable assignment to me." Sirius nodded thoughtfully.

"What about you, Mr. Potter? Do you think you're ready?" Moro turned to him, but his question was flat and unnecessary.

Harry nodded.

"Don't worry, he's with me." Sirius grinned.

"That's enough ground to worry." Dumbledore mumbled where only Harry could hear. He laughed silently.

"What was that?" Moro turned sharply to the old wizard.

"I said that we'd better let them on their way." Dumbledore said simply, his eyes half closed as he addressed Moro.

"Alright, then. I'll be expecting a full report as soon as you're able- make that _soon_. After what happened last week… well, just be careful out there."

Harry tried not to look stricken as he remembered the recent deaths, but managed to keep his face indifferent and nodded.

"You can count on us." Sirius smiled, but there was no humor in his voice.

*

They apparated to a small village just outside of Oxford as soon as they left Hogwarts. Harry was bristling with excitement and apprehension. He wasn't entirely sure of what to expect, and he stayed so close to Sirius that he became a second shadow. If his godfather found this annoying, he didn't say anything. Perhaps he preferred it that way. 

Harry couldn't help but rest his hand on the pocket where his wand was held, thinking that at any moment a Death Eater could jump out. The reflexes born of his Quidditch skills made him exceptionally skilled at dueling- although it was what he hated the most, remembering his fourth year and what his first real duel brought upon him and the world. But, regardless, Harry felt ready… and yet not ready at the same time. What was Ron doing right now? Studying for an exam? What would he say if he were there beside him? Not having Ron to fall back on made Harry's heart ache slightly. While it was wonderful being with his godfather, and he felt safe and secure, it was not the same as having your best friend to share mutual feelings for what laid ahead.

Sirius led him through the village, consisting of a few official buildings, some shops and restaurants, and homes. The wizarding families that lived there concealed their magic heritage well, for nearly half the population were good-natured Muggles. The sight of two wizards walking harmlessly down the street did not perturb much interest from the few pedestrian locals about in the late morning. It must have been a common sight.

They stopped at a small pub near a dark lake that rolled mist over the grounds around it. It seemed, as they walked inside that this was _the_ place to hang out in this village, for it was filled with men of all ages and women straggling about. The heavy scent of mead and gin, smoke and grease, hit Harry's nose like a Bludger. Sirius glanced at him before walking inside all the way, smiling slightly.

"Not quite The Three Broomsticks, eh?" He said.

"I doubt they sell butterbeer here." Harry said over the din of voices.

"Just act normal and do what I do." Sirius nodded over to a corner, where a tall and lanky looking man with sandy brown hair sat huddled over a mug of frothy beer. Harry followed Sirius to where the man was sitting, and when they were seen, the man looked up and smiled slowly.

"Ah, there you are, Opal. And I see you brought your young one with you." His voice was tired, but pleasant.

"Good morning, Birch. Yes, this here is Emerald. Son, this is Birch." Sirius sat down and pulled out a chair for Harry. Harry had no idea why they were calling each other by different names, but he set his question aside for a more suitable time and place. He nodded politely and sat down; a maid came to them promptly.

"I'll have a beer." Sirius said.

"You have Pepsi?" Harry asked tentatively. Both Birch and Sirius glanced at him with concealed curiosity.

"Sure, hon. I'll be right back."

Harry blushed slightly as the two men looked at him.

"Er… I haven't had soda in years. It's a normal request for a Muggle my age, anyway."

Birch nodded and smiled faintly, staring back into his mug of beer.

"So then, Opal, I trust you are well."

"Yes, but I'm concerned about _you_. Perhaps Emerald and I can lend a hand with the job." Sirius led the conversation as if it were normal chatter. Harry listened with burning wonder- it was obvious they were talking in code, which explained the code names.

"I would appreciate that, thank you. Some friends of mine have also offered. They should be in town shortly." Birch glanced around the pub.

The maid came back with Sirius' beer and Harry's soda. They drank in silence for a while, trying to act as normal as possible. It wasn't hard, for the pub was brimming with life, making it hard for anyone to notice anything. Harry began to feel left out of the meeting, wanting desperately to prove that he could involve himself too without instruction. He carefully thought out how he was going to word his question, and when he decided what was suitable, he cleared his throat.

"Er… Birch? How many problems with the job did you say there was?"

Both Birch and Sirius smiled slowly, and the gleam in Sirius' eye made Harry beam proudly.

"Well, I've had some of my employees go over the problems, and I'd say there be about a dozen, maybe more. If we work hard as a team, perhaps we can get it all cleared up." Birch rubbed his chin, thoughtfully.

"How soon should it be done?" Sirius asked.

"It's hard to say if and when it'll leave any permanent effects, so as soon as possible." Birch lowered his voice slightly.

"Do you know what part will be hit the hardest by the problems?" Sirius asked briskly, glancing around.

Birch looked grim.

"No."

Sirius looked at Harry with a blank expression, then nodded slightly. He turned back to Birch.

"Does Vixy know where we can start looking?"

"She's up at the moor and knows where to start. Perhaps you can catch up with her there, before the others arrive. We'll meet for dinner, then, before we set out to clean things up." Birch said mildly.

Sirius stood up and motioned for Harry to follow. He smiled and shook Birch's hand, Harry doing the same.

"We'll see you then, Birch."

"Take care, Opal. You too, Emerald… stay close to your father." Birch gave a slight wave, then huddled back over his half-empty mug of beer. Harry raised his eyebrows slightly, before Sirius lightly took his arm and led him out. It wasn't until they were alone and walking up a path into a more desolate area of the town that Harry spoke up.

"Care to explain?"

Sirius colored slightly and grunted, keeping his eyes straight ahead.

"Er… sorry. I- er… forgot to tell you about that aspect of the meeting. You see, when you meet other aurors in public, you use code names and speak in code. That way, any Death Eater or whatnot can't easily suspect us and point us out. Also, when you're investigating secretly, you don't wear your uniform- like Birch. Birch is Fletcher, by the way, if you haven't figured that out already. Although, I trust you caught on; that was a good question you asked. I'm proud of you."

Harry blushed slightly.

"Why 'Opal'? Who decided I'm 'Emerald'?" he asked shortly.

"Your senior chooses your code name. Opal is just another name for a shade of black. My senior was Anthony Flemming. Voldemort killed him in the first war. Anyway, so, I thought 'Emerald' was appropriate for you."

"My eyes." Harry answered.

"Yes. When you meet Sally, or 'Vixy', you'll see how she earned her name. Our names reflect some characteristic of our appearance, so that aurors from out of town can recognize us. But, remember this, _never_ use your code name or anyone else's in front of Death Eaters when you reveal that you are an auror. Also, aurors can't work in the same area between ten-year periods. This also prevents the Dark Arts from recognizing us too easily. Got that?"

"Yes… _father_." Harry grinned genuinely.

It was Sirius' turn to blush again.

"Well, I _am_, in a way, you know. I'm your godfather- plus it's another disguise. If anyone knew you were my apprentice, it would be conspicuous. It's more natural that you be my son. You don't… mind… do you?"

Harry nudged him in the arm, laughing.

"Of course not." He said quietly after a while.

They reached a large and nicely built house at the end of the path that was hidden by trees. Sirius led him up the walk and to the front door, where he knocked gently. After a moment's pause, the door opened and a tall witch with red-orange hair and a pointy nose answered.

"Opal! How long it's been! Come on in!" She cried, flashing a pearly white smile.

"Hello, Vixy. I believe you've yet to meet Emerald." Sirius stepped inside, Harry right behind him.

"Oh, my word." She whispered as she closed the door behind them. "Amazing. Oh, the last time I saw you, you were so small! _Harry_… I knew your parents well."

He shook her hand, before she pulled him into a light hug.

"Appropriate name, especially for Lily's son." She said. "For once, Sirius, you made a good choice."

"I don't know how to take that, Sally." Sirius looked smug.

She laughed at him and beckoned them further inside.

"Come have something to drink and I'll fill you in. I trust Birch gave you something to ponder downtown?" Sally called over her shoulder.

Sirius began to tell her about what went on while Harry observed the large house. Much like the one he was sharing with Sirius, it was bare for it's size. It had a musty, unused smell and dust was clearly seen on what little furniture he could see. Dusty sheets covered walls and floors, looking like the house was preparing to undergo renovation or that it's occupants were moving.

The kitchen was the perfect proportion to the size of the house, for it was so large that Harry was sure a Quidditch game could be played without much damage. Sirius was sitting on a stool beside the kitchen island and Sally was busy with a kettle over an enormous stove.

"So, Harry! Tell me what you think about being an auror so far." Sally asked without looking over her shoulder.

"So far, so good." Harry pulled up a stool next to Sirius.

"He catches on quick, like I said." Sirius ruffled his hair.

"That's not surprising. James hardly made mistakes." Sally poured tea into three mugs.

"Oh, believe me, Sally… James had his share of misgivings." Sirius smiled faintly.

Sally turned to hand them their tea with a mixed expression. After a moment's awkward silence, Harry let his curiosity get the better of him.

"What was my father's code name?"

Sirius and Sally looked at him, and then at each other.

"Raven. For more reasons than one." Sirius looked away to stare at the kitchen's large pantry.

There was a loud knock at the door and Sally got up to answer. Harry tossed his father's code name around in his head, wondering what Sirius meant by "for more reasons than one". There was loud clatter and shuffling of feet coming from the front door, and soon a whole line of wizards and witches wearing everything from Muggle clothes to swirling wizarding robes came in to the kitchen.

"Opal! Long time, no see!" Cried a short, balding wizard wearing faded blue jeans and a T-shirt with the phrase "Mind the Gap" across it.

"Hey Black, guess we can call you 'gray' here, before long!" Joked a wizard so large, he could have passed for a giant.

"Oh my! This can't be… can it?" Said a witch wearing purple swirling wizarding robes, looking at Harry with awe.

This got the attention of the whole crowd, making Harry unconsciously shrink down on his stool under the stare. Sirius took another swig of his tea and put a hand proudly on his shoulder.

"May I introduce my apprentice, Harry Potter."

After an intake of breath and a pause of silence, the tumult of aurors were upon him, shaking his hand and clapping him on the back.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say I was looking at James!"

"How you've _grown_! Has it really been this long?"

"I can remember when you were _this big_!"

"Can't wait to see you in action, boy… you must be as good as you're dad to have gotten out of scholastic training so soon!"

"Are you eating enough? Sirius, have you been feeding this youngling properly?"

"Alright, alright! Let poor Harry breathe, for Merlin's sake!" Sirius nearly batted them away. Harry was as red as a turnip under all the attention, feeling slightly put-off. Here he was trying to prove himself as a capable adult auror, and the seasoned ones were fussing over him like it was all a family reunion! At that thought, however, Harry calmed down. He had never had anything like that before. 

At that moment, the front door had opened and closed, and Birch appeared in the kitchen looking wind-blown and gruff.

"Listen up, everyone. We don't have much time."

*

It was explained over the following hour that the situation had grew steadily worse since word got back to headquarters. An unknown number of Death Eaters were converging on the town to eliminate someone, or a family. That was all anyone knew. What they did know was that the Death Eaters were going to make their move at nightfall that evening. The plan thereafter was to send at least one auror to every known wizarding residence in the town and give warnings- as well as protection. So as not to reveal themselves, most would transform into their animajus forms and lay ambush to any Death Eaters that show up. Everyone agreed and left the large house to their posts; Sirius and Harry stayed behind a while longer with Sally.

"You're not an animajus, are you?" Sally asked Harry.

"No… I… didn't quite have time at headquarters to learn." He said.

"You should, you know. It's a very handy technique in cases like these."

"I'm sure I'll be able to teach him, after all, I learned by myself with two others my age." Sirius said, making way to the door.

"Illegally." Sally gave him a hard look. "At least when you do, Harry, register yourself once you learn how."

"What form do you take?" Harry asked, although with one look at her and remembering her code name, he answered himself. "A fox."

"A vixen, to be precise." She smiled. "Well, we better be off. You know where we're going, Sirius?"

"Yes, ma'am." Sirius nodded.

Thirty minutes later, Harry found himself dressed in jeans and a polo shirt sitting on a bench across from a string of houses where some wizarding families resided. Sirius and Sally were in their animajus forms positioned around the perimeter. Because Harry could not transform, he had to disguise himself by other means. His hair was magicked to a dark brown color and his glasses were transfigured to smaller ovals in a copper frame. He sat with the local newspaper, which he had put a spell on to enable him to see right through the paper and watch the street in front of him. The only thing he couldn't disguise, however, was his scar. With each breath of wind, Harry nervously fixed his bangs to cover his forehead. 

A car alarm went off further along the street, and Harry looked up with mild curiosity like any other Muggle would. It had been a long time since he had made contact with the Muggle world, but it made no difference. The few people who walked along the sidewalk gave him only quiet small-town greetings and walked on. After nearly an hour, however, Harry grew tired.

__

If only I had my invisibility cloak, Harry thought to himself. _Then I could walk around unnoticed. I wish Sirius hadn't talked me out of bringing it._

A large black shape was coming toward him out of the corner of his eye, and Harry saw Sirius in his dog form come bounding up the sidewalk. He stopped in front of him, tongue hanging out, and looked back at the direction from which he came. Harry smiled and patted his head, then looked where he was looking. Down the sidewalk were two men, wearing dark clothing and walking slowly toward him.

Harry slowly fingered the wand under his shirt, watching them carefully with narrowed eyes. Sirius began to growl, and Harry nodded. He folded up the newspaper and got up, walking calmly across the street to one house with a fenced gate. He went inside and walked to the backyard, where a marble colored cat sat waiting on the back fence.

"They're coming. Get the others." He muttered, watching the cat's purple colored eyes narrow with understanding. As Harry watched the cat leave, Sirius transformed back to his human self.

"It's odd, though. There are only two of them that I could see. Although, Sally has probably spotted more. She went to tell Birch." He whispered, seeing a light turn on in the house behind them.

"They know." Harry motioned to the house.

"Unless absolutely necessary, they'll leave by other means. Otherwise, the families need to act as normal as possible if we're to nail the scum." Sirius nodded.

Harry fixed his hair back to its normal color and changed his glasses. He also changed his clothes back to his wizarding robes.

"What now?" he asked.

"We wait. Come on, follow me."

He followed Sirius back to the front of the house and mimicked his every move. Sirius often corrected him, but Harry managed to keep himself close. They ended up concealed in bushes along the sidewalk, and they watched the two Death Eaters slowly pick out their target. Harry felt his hair bristle with hatred, forcing every bit of himself to stay where he was next to his godfather. Sirius took notice, and placed a hand lightly on his shoulder.

"Wait for the signal." He whispered lightly in his ear. Harry gripped his wand tighter. He went over all the lessons he had had during his short year at headquarters on the ambushing of enemies. He considered all the pointers Sirius had told him before they separated that night- to stay behind him, don't throw out any hexes or curses unless he had to, if they somehow move into any of the houses, to stay outside and back them up… if it got out of hand- apparate immediately to somewhere safe and notify headquarters. Harry was hoping it wouldn't get that far. He wanted it all to succeed.

The Death Eaters had stopped in front of the house next to them, anxiously looking up and down the street for watching eyes. Harry and Sirius were well concealed among the bushes, but Harry had no idea where the others were- if they were even there yet to start out. One of the men was reaching into his pocket; Sirius stiffened.

"Get ready…"

The Death Eater pulled out his wand.

"NOW!"

Sirius leapt from the bushes, wand outstretched. Harry shot out behind him, heart beating so fast he thought it'd leap out of his chest. The lawn the jumped onto was immediately filled with a dozen aurors, completely surrounding the Death Eaters.

"Under the authority of the Ministry of Magic you are hereby under arrest!" Birch/Fletcher shouted at the two men.

The Death Eaters looked around them with wide eyes, but something in their expression made Harry feel uneasy. They gave him a bad feeling, growing more profound by the moment.

"Sirius…" Harry hissed from behind him. "Sirius, something's up."

One of the Death Eaters cracked a nervous, but proud smile.

"You may have _us_, but they have _you_!"

At that moment, there was a loud swishing sound, and with a dreaded pit in his stomach, Harry turned to see a larger circle of Death Eaters surrounding them all. Sirius grabbed Harry's arm.

"Apparate. Now. Go!" He yelled at him. But before Harry could so much as say anything, the Death Eaters were upon them. Harry leapt to the side, half pushed by Sirius, who began bellowing out curses left and right. Sparks from both sides raged and men and women filled the air with their spells. While it wasn't hard to distinguish who were Death Eaters and who were aurors, everyone was moving around so fast that Harry couldn't lock his eyes on anyone in particular. He knew he was to apparate away and contact headquarters, but a small voice at the back of his mind kept telling him to stay.

Harry ran into the fray, going against orders and began to hex and curse what Death Eaters he could see. Sirius was backing himself into a corner, and Harry knocked over one of his pursuers and cursed the others. There wasn't any time for Sirius to either praise him or reprimand him for going against orders. Instead, they went back-to-back to clear away the Death Eaters that were pressuring the other aurors. That was, until, Harry heard a loud scream from the house.

The house behind the small war being raged on its lawn had its front door wide open. None of the aurors had noticed, and Sirius was now away from earshot. Harry frantically debated what to do, before another scream cut through to his ears. Without further deliberation, Harry gripped his wand more firmly and ran into the house.

Everything was everywhere. Furniture was toppled over, rugs were rolled up and tossed to corners from frantic traffic, pictures hung at odd angles. Harry quickly moved from room to room, looking for anyone. He passed down a hallway, going towards the back door, when he heard a soft whimpering from the floor. Underneath a hall table, was a little girl. Harry bent down and smiled at her patiently.

"Hello there, don't worry, I won't hurt you, I'm an auror."

"They took them!" the girl sobbed.

"Where? Where did they take them?" Harry asked urgently.

"I… I dunno! My dad, my dad… he… he's…!"

Harry heard a crash coming from what must have been the kitchen.

"You stay here. Do not come out. I'll get your family and come back for you, alright?" 

The girl nodded, tears streaming from her eyes, and Harry got up. He cautiously approached the kitchen, wand readied. More whimpers and cries came from the light that seeped from the kitchen door, along with harsh commands and threats. With a deep breath, Harry put a hand on the door.

__

Please, let me get this right. Harry prayed.

He kicked the door open.

"Stay where you are! You are under arrest" He bellowed.

There were two Death Eaters, caught at full surprise by Harry's entrance. A woman was huddled over a large crumpled form in the kitchen, sobbing. One of the Death Eaters held a boy around nine years old roughly by the collar of his shirt. Immediately, that Death Eater pointed his wand at the boy's throat.

"Well, well, well… if it isn't the famous Harry Potter!" the Death Eater sneered, however Harry could sense a slight taste of fear in his voice.

"Let the boy go." Harry growled firmly. He cursed himself in his mind, for he couldn't disarm two Death Eaters at the same time.

"What are you going to do, Potter? Think you can stop us?" the other Death Eater hissed.

"I stopped your master nearly seven times, you fool! Do not underestimate me." Harry felt the power within him build like a threatening tidal wave.

This made the Death Eater's confidence waiver. Harry took the chance and shouted out the disarming curse at the one with the boy, and then hexed the other's legs with the Jelly-Legs curse. It was an extremely lucky shot. The boy fell to his knees, sobbing, and crawled over to his mother, who grabbed him quickly. Harry immediately magicked shackles onto the Death Eaters' hands and feet, then checked the family. Much to his despair, the woman's husband and the children's father was dead by Avada Kedavra. He felt his stomach drop and had a hard time trying to keep from being sick.

The woman looked up at him, tears streaming down her face.

"Thank you for saving my Zach… thank you for saving us, Mr. Potter. Charles, my husband… he would be grateful too."

Harry felt the tears prickling at his own eyes, feeling like he should have been quicker. His throat felt dry and his voice cracked.

"You're… you're daughter is safe as well."

There was a frantic scrambling behind him, making Harry whirl around with his wand to face a haggard looking Sirius and Fletcher, each taking in the scene gravely.

"Are you alright, Harry?" Sirius asked breathlessly. Harry nodded, eyes lowered to the ground and averted from the scene. The woman had begun to sob again and the boy could only whimper.

"_Why_?" The woman whispered with each sharp breath. "Why us? How can someone be so evil? Can this ever be stopped completely?"

Harry felt her words begin to strangle his heart. This was the first time he had seen something like this first hand- and have a part in it. He had thought he could truly make a difference, but not even The Boy Who Lived could save everyone. Not yet.

"Come, Harry. Things are under control now." Sirius took his arm gently and led him out of the house. The scene outside was not much different from inside the house. Gardens and bushes were flattened, fences were damaged and pieces missing- even the car in the driveway of the house next door had its windows broken and tires flat. Aurors were dragging away stunned figures in black cloaks, others were helping the wounded. Harry watched it all as if it were some horrible dream, not feeling his feet land on the ground as Sirius led him away from the chaos.

He began to notice that all the aurors he had seen at Sally's house were around and alive- except for one.

"Sirius? Sirius… where's… where's Sally?" he croaked in a voice that was not his own.

Sirius turned without stopping or meeting his eyes.

"I need to get you home, Harry."

His tone answered Harry's question.

****

Author's Note: So, how was it? I get nervous when writing battle scenes, but I think I got it done right. Some of you have asked about SoY and what's up with it… well, that has been put aside for a rainy day- particularly after graduation. Yes, folks, that day everyone prays for once they get past Kindergarten just so happens to be May 31st. I just need to survive my evil @#^@%^#%#$^~!** government/economics and physics teachers for 3 more weeks- then it's off to the real world. Rest assured, even with college & a job, I'll write. After all, my planned major as of now is English! ::sigh::

I _WOULD_ have my thank you part right here, but ff.net was uncooperative upon retrieving my reviews this afternoon in time to write this… so plan on having all your wonderful reviews thanked personally in the next chapter. **BUT** don't let that stop you from reviewing this one…. _Please_? You know how much I appreciate it! ::big puppy eyes::

Keep tabs on me at my website: [http://www.theworldofreneepotter.disneyfansites.com][1] and check out the new artwork, story news, and new recommended books. Has anyone read any of the ones I have listed there? What do you think of them? E-mail me and we'll do a cyber-lunch chat about the spiffy books!

Review! 

__

"War brings sorrow… but we must fight to keep our loved ones from sorrow." –Quatre R. Winner (Gundam Wing)

~Orca

[OrcaMorph@aol.com][2]

   [1]: http://www.theworldofreneepotter.disneyfansites.com/
   [2]: mailto:OrcaMorph@aol.com



	5. 

Author's Note: Here's chapter 4 ****

Author's Note: Here's chapter 4! ::much applause:: Although, it may be a little short (I call it a "filler" or "bridging" chapter), I still feel it lives up to the story. I'm thinking I'm about half-way with this. Good news, your reviews are personally thanked at the end- be sure and review this time, too. I LOVE REVIEWS! Reviews are _good_ things! Goooood things to come home to after a stressful day of the last two weeks of public school.

**__**

Special Thanks: To RavenNat and 007, two awesome beta readers! 

****

Chapter Four

Experience

What happened during the following three days of his first experience was all a blur to Harry. Sirius had taken him directly home to Stag's Head from the small town that had quickly erupted into chaos. Copies of The Daily Prophet that Hedwig had brought him gave a mild story of the events that had happened. Sirius said that it was a good thing, so as not to greatly alarm the populace. The family whose house was invaded was having a private funeral, and the aurors who were involved in the fray were invited. Harry at first refused to come, but Sirius insisted that he should go. Sirius himself couldn't, for his name wasn't yet completely cleared and his attendance would cause alarm. So, on the third day after the small battle, Harry went to the service.

Not too many aurors were able to attend, for those who were able were put immediately back on assignment. Sirius had somehow convinced Moro to give him and Harry some time to themselves- so Harry was able to go. There was already a memorial service for Sally Packard, and Harry at the time was so in shock that he couldn't entirely remember it all. But it was this funeral that Harry would always remember.

It was held in a secluded garden somewhere in Oxford, away from Muggle eyes. The pastor delivered his monologue and the wife of the man who was murdered gave a tearful statement. Harry couldn't look at her face, standing discretely at the back of the black robed crowd. However, when he did glance up at the casket, flowers covering the wooden top, he met eyes with the little girl whom he had discovered hiding in her hallway. The look in her eyes as he met them held a deep message. It wasn't of anger, but of hope. It confused Harry, and he cocked his head slightly as he watched her eyes.

__

Try… please try. This can't go on. Her gaze bore into his before she looked away to say her final goodbye to her father.

Harry shook himself and quietly stepped back to leave. He stuffed his hands in his robe pockets and kept his head low so as not to be discovered. Yet when he was preparing to apparate, someone gently called his name.

"Harry!"

He looked to see a tall man with flaming red hair wearing green robes come striding toward him. The first real smile in days cracked on Harry's face as he got closer.

"Ron!"

Ron broke into a trot and nearly threw himself on top of him.

"Harry! Oh, man! Am I glad to see you!"

"I'm more than glad to see you! What's up? You graduated already too?" Harry pulled apart to look at him. Ron was beaming proudly, hands on hips.

"Everyone! Our whole class! No one would tell us why, but a few days after you left we were all given final exams and graduated the next! Even Noin got out with decent scores. We've all been apprenticed!"

"That's great!" Harry smiled, running a hand through his hair. Ron laughed a little, nodding. After a moment, however, people were walking past them as the funeral had ended. Some paused a moment to glance with muted awe at Harry, but continued on their way. A few shook his hand and praised him; Harry murmured hollowed thanks. Ron looked hesitant and unsure as the crowd thinned, and shuffled his feet and averted his eyes.

"Er… I heard about all that had happened. My senior is Julian Ossom. See him? He's over there; the tall one with big eyes."

Harry looked over to where he was pointing and saw the same huge wizard that he had met at Sally Packard's house. One thing he didn't notice while there, however, was just how large his eyes were. Harry nodded and looked away.

"Yes, I've met him. Nice guy. He knew my father."

"Yeah, he's great. Although, he insists on me wearing my apprentice greens, though. You're lucky you got Sirius and don't have to wear yours. They're itchy." Ron grimaced and scratched his arms. 

"Don't worry. When you're out on assignment with your senior, you have to dress Muggle-style… so as not to be too obvious. Or in your regular wizarding robes. At least that's what Sirius told me." Harry shrugged.

"He didn't come, I see. Oh, yeah… that's right, he can't, really. Well, anyway… besides what happened, has it been everything you thought it would be? I was assigned to Ossom the day after the… er… incident. So I have yet to do anything, really." Ron said.

"A lot more than what I expected. A lot." Harry answered distantly, watching the young girl and her family leave. Ron looked where Harry was staring and let out a quiet sigh.

"You didn't think this would never happen, did you?" Ron asked quietly.

"Not this soon. Not the first time." Harry answered after a moment, blinking as the family drove away in a car provided by the Ministry of Magic.

"This may not be the last, Harry. You know that even you can't prevent it."

"I can try, Ron." Harry looked away.

Ron made a noise to protest, but stopped himself and sighed again. They stood there awkwardly for a moment, before Ron cleared his throat and bounced on his heels, eager to cheer his best friend up.

"Didn't think we'd see each other again so soon! I almost feel stupid for getting nearly all gushy when we saw each other last!"

Harry couldn't help but let a grin slip.

"Yeah… but we both know you were the one most upset. I knew it wouldn't be long- I _told_ you so!"

"Aw, now come on! You know that you were just as emotional as I was! If it weren't for our manliness, we'd be bawling together like too pregnant women reading a romance novel!"

That got Harry to laugh, and they were both supporting each other to keep from falling over. After a few minutes, feeling suddenly stupid for breaking out into hysterics at a funeral scene, Ron calmed himself enough to let out a question that stunned Harry.

"Have you heard from Ginny yet? Can you believe she's _graduating_?!"

Harry let his laugher die out and he looked at Ron with a mixed expression that made Ron grin.

"S-she is? No… I… she must have… er… Sirius probably got…"

"I only got her letter this morning. It's probably waiting for you at home. Speaking of home- I'd love to come check out your place with Sirius. From what you told me in your last letter, it sounds fantastic!"

"Well, I'd love to have you and everyone over… but I have to ask Sirius first. You know the rules." Harry took a deep breath.

Ron looked slightly defeated, looking over to his senior who seemed to be preparing to leave.

"Ah, yes. Yeah, well, drop me a line when you are able to. You _are_ going to come to Ginny's ceremony and the party at my parents' house afterwards, are you?"

Harry nodded a little too quickly, feeling dizzy once he stopped. Ron laughed at him and cuffed him on the shoulder.

"Send Hedwig when you can. I'm sure her letter will explain more. Right now-"

"Weasley! Time to go!" Ossom called to him, waving his arm. "Evening, Harry! Take care of yourself!"

"-I have to go." Ron smiled sadly. "But we _will_ see each other soon."

"Right. See you later, then." Harry shook his hand, stepping back.

Ron grinned and jumped on him again, ruffling his hair while Harry gave a weak protest until Ossom shouted for Ron once more.

"Watch out for yourself, buddy. I'll see you." Ron walked off.

"Bye." Harry said, turning around reluctantly and apparated back to Stag's Head.

*

Five days later, after an entire night of careful begging earlier that week with Sirius, Harry found himself thrown into the crowd forming inside the Great Hall of Hogwarts. Only a year before, Harry himself was in that place last- graduating alongside his friends. It seemed like it was a lot longer; much had happened to him since then. But now, the last of his friends was finally graduating, and Harry felt something inside of him swell with an excitement he couldn't understand.

He spotted the Weasleys fighting for the first row of seats and moved to greet them. Fred and George, looking particularly much older and professional, had bribed a little boy that was saving seats with a package of dung bombs to give them up. Triumphantly, they moved down and waved everyone to join them. When they saw Harry, creeping up behind Ron and Percy, they let sly grins appear on their faces.

"LOOK OUT RON! PERCY! IT'S FILCH!" George shouted, pointing at Harry.

Ron and Percy went white and twisted around. Harry smiled cheerily and waved.

"Hullo!"

"Oh geez, George! You nearly gave me a heart attack! Harry! You made it! Fantastic!" Ron grabbed him.

"Really, George- act your age." Percy rolled his eyes.

"What? Ol' Prefect Percy scared of little ol' Filch?" Fred laughed.

"Hush you two, honestly!" Mrs. Weasley turned in her seat, then she spotted Harry. "OH! Harry, dear! Come here, come here!"

Harry smiled and sidled over to her, nearly being suffocated in her grasp as she hugged him. She fussed and smoothed out his hair, before Ron pulled her away.

"C'mon, mum… leave him be."

"Nonsense! I haven't seen my Harry in nearly a year and you deny me my right to fuss?! No, sir. How are you Harry? Eating well? You could do with some more vegetables, I believe. Is your senior treating you right? Where's your sweater? It's supposed to be chilly tonight… you'll catch cold." Mrs. Weasley had to be pulled away by Mr. Weasley to get her off of him.

"Hey, Harry. How're you?" he grinned at Harry.

"Fine, sir." He grinned back.

Charlie and Bill were there as well, and they all chatted until Dumbledore appeared and the procession of seventh year graduates made their way down the isle. The caps and gowns the graduates wore were coordinated with the house they belonged to. Gryffindor was first in line, about a dozen or so graduates wearing scarlet red. Harry strained his vision to pick out Ginny, but her hair blended in with her attire and it wasn't until she was standing clear across the hall that he saw her.

An unconscious smile spread on his face as he watched her. She had grown tall, her red hair smooth and wavy around her face. There were only faint splotches of freckles on her cheeks, not entirely visible from where he was sitting. Her eyes were a golden brown, reflecting the light from the hundreds of floating candles above them. She was looking at Dumbledore, who was delivering his speech, when she turned her gaze at Harry. He felt the world crawl to stop as he was held in her gaze. Ginny smiled and he returned the gesture, before Ron elbowed him roughly in the arm.

"Ow… hey! What gives?"

"Look." Ron whispered, pointing further down the row at Fred and George, who were hunched over a banner with the words:

GINNY WEASLEY IS THE HOTTEST GRADUATE!

"Oh, no… they're not!" Harry gasped.

"I think it's funny." Ron began to giggle silently.

"Hush, Ron." Mrs. Weasley hissed from the row in front of them.

Harry worriedly looked back at Ginny, but she was no longer looking at him. The Gryffindors were now lining up to receive their diplomas and Dumbledore was calling out names while McGonagall gave them out. Harry tried to grab George's attention, but with no avail. Ginny was almost last in line, but Dumbledore was going rather quickly and soon it would be too late. Whipping out his wand, Harry muttered the first spell that came to mind.

"Weasley, Ginny!" Dumbledore announced. Ginny walked across the platform to McGonagall.

"GO GINNY!" Fred and George shouted, throwing up their banner. Harry frantically read the words, worried that he had made it worse than before. It now read:

GINNY WEASLEY IS THE BESTEST GRADUATE!

Harry let out a great sigh of relief, and watched as Ginny happily left the platform with her diploma. She turned and laughed quietly at the banner, then looked at Harry. He gave a feeble wave as Fred and George did a double take at their message.

"Hey! We didn't write that!" Fred looked indignant.

"Yeah, that's not as funny!" George whined.

All of the Weasleys turned and looked at them; Ron nearly busted his gut to keep from laughing.

"What are you talking about, boys? I think this is the first decent thing you've ever done for your little sister." Mrs. Weasley eyed them.

The twins went scarlet and slowly sat back down in their seats, magicking the banner away and crossing their arms. Harry hid himself when they looked his way, pretending to look for Ginny, whom he could see clearly standing with the other Gryffindors. She was smiling at him, and when he grinned back, she looked away as her face went pink.

For another hour, the ceremony went on. Fred and George began to fidget and complain like four-year-olds before it finally ended. By the time the crowd had dispersed and the graduates reunited with their families, Harry's watch was flashing urgently that he was needed. He grimaced, and impatiently shuffled his feet as he watched Ginny talk with her family and friends. When she saw him, her smile wavered and she excused herself.

"Congratulations, Ginny. You looked beautiful up there." Harry's heart flipped as she came near.

"Oh, Harry! I'm so happy you came!" Ginny sighed, standing close in front of him that he could smell her sweet perfume.

Harry had to fight to keep his eyes from glazing over.

"It's great to see you."

"I've missed you, Harry. It's been nearly a year, now." She looked down at her feet.

"I know. I've missed you, too." Harry took her hands in his. Her smile returned, but her expression became puzzled when she noticed his watch.

"You… you have to go so soon?"

Harry sighed and nodded.

"I'm sorry, Ginny. If I could, I would stay with you for much longer… but…"

"I understand." She nodded solemnly, dropping her hands from his.

"Ginny, I-" Harry frowned.

"No, Harry, it's alright. I'll write you. There's always the future- we'll meet again." Ginny leaned over and kissed him not quite on the lips, and walked away.

"Ginny, wait!" Harry called to her, but she had already disappeared in the crowd of her family. He felt his flipping heart still itself and sink. Mentally, he cursed his job and the watch that reminded him of it. If Ginny thought that he valued his job over her, she was far from the truth. His job as an auror was merely the unwilling priority- he was making sure Ginny stayed safe, this way. Harry knew that Ginny understood, but it didn't make the absence any easier.

He shoved his hands in his pockets, and turned to leave, before Ron stopped him.

"Hey! Hey, are you just gonna leave without saying goodbye?!" he asked sharply.

"I'm sorry, Ron. I have to go right away, I'm being called." Harry muttered.

Ron looked crestfallen, glancing back at his family in the crowd behind him.

"But…"

"I'll get Sirius to give some more time off soon… but right now he's got me really busy. I'm lucky I managed to come to the ceremony at all." Harry lamented.

Suddenly, Ron's watch began to vibrate, and he looked down at it to notice that, it too, was flashing a notice from his senior. Ron frowned and shook his head.

"Thus begins the end of our social lives." He muttered, shoving his hand into his own pocket.

"Let's say goodbye together, then." Harry forced a small smile.

"Oh, I see what you're playing at… you're just happy that you won't be the only one getting lectured on the importance of family." Ron grinned.

Harry looked at him for a minute, then back at the other Weasleys.

"It's because our family is important that we sacrifice our time to make sure we have one to go home to." He whispered.

Ron stared at him a moment, then nodded. Together, they bid their farewells.

*

"Are you paying attention, Harry?"

It was the following day. Harry sat cross-legged in his armchair, facing the large windowed wall that let in the morning sunshine. Sirius was standing off to the side, looking at him sternly, with his wand tapping his shoulder in impatience.

"Earth to Harry."

"Huh?" Harry blurted dumbly, not breaking his gaze from the window. He was still troubled by the way he had parted with Ginny the day before. To make himself feel better, he had stayed up later than usual to write a long letter to her. Hedwig still hadn't returned with a reply. It was hard to keep his mind away from the feeling, even with Sirius beginning his lessons in Animagi transformation. Moro had ordered that Harry learn as soon as possible, for it was just too dangerous walking around as himself- being so well known to the wizarding world. It would continue to be difficult to do undercover investigations like the first assignment he took part in, without being an Animagus like Sirius and the others.

"Come on, Harry. You need to pay attention. Becoming an Animagus is not an easy task, even for talented wizards like yourself." Sirius scuffed.

"Alright, alright." Harry turned in his chair to face him.

"Now, in order to assert your form…"

For the next four hours, Sirius went through the rigorous incantations and spells that needed to be set in place to initially let Harry become an Animagus. Harry fought hard to clear his mind and pay attention, and was relieved that the lesson was doing so easily. Like Sirius had said, it was not an easy task. It was more complicated than the Patronus charm, in that there were more set spells to chant. Sirius said that once the initial spells were recited and performed, they wouldn't have to be again. To transform after the first time, all that one had to do was say _Anjamori _mentally.

Finally, well after they had paused for lunch, Sirius announced that Harry should proceed to try and initialize the procedure.

"Okay," Harry said skeptically. "But what happens if I take on the form of a… of a fish, or something?"

"Either make sure that you're underwater when you transform, or become very talented at holding your breath for an extended period of time." Sirius grinned.

Harry tossed his head in exasperation.

"You're so much help."

"Hey… I'm teaching you, aren't I? I suffered just as much as you are right now, perhaps more since I didn't have such a talented teacher to help me!" Sirius said smugly.

"Fine. Well, here goes nothing…"

Harry closed his eyes and held his wand with both hands, slightly away and in front of him.

"_Anjamori jarosopium cara car no' 'tui esquirious transimophi svan anjamorius_!"

Instantly, his wand began to glow a golden-red color. The light began to compete with the sunlight coming in from the windows. Then suddenly, the color spread through Harry's hands, up his arms, and spread all over his body- until he, too, was glowing golden-red. Sirius watched him carefully, nodding encouragingly as Harry opened his eyes in astonishment.

"Keep going, Harry! I think you've got it!" he cried.

Harry swallowed hard and closed his eyes again.

"_My soul is the window… luos anjamori… I open it with my will._"

At this point, the glowing light aura that surrounded him became so bright that Sirius squinted. Harry pushed everything out of his mind except the spell, feeling all his power go into his words… power that he had only felt a few times in his life.

"_Transimophi svan anjami… my soul has a form… anjamori jarospium cara. I am who I am to be… transimophi… my will can command… car no' 'tu… allow myself to take my form… anjamorius_!"

There was a loud and sudden POP! Harry's wand turned back to it's original color and fell to the floor. Harry went to catch it, but found that instead of reaching out a hand… he reached out a _paw_.

"Oh, Harry! You did it! I can't believe it! Harry! Harry, you're amazing!" Sirius was beaming. Harry looked at him closely, and found that he could make out every strand of gray hair that was fighting the black ones on his head. He knew his glasses were sharp, but they weren't ever _that_ good. Then he looked back at the paw that had stretched out instead of his hand. What he saw made his heart stop.

"That's right, Harry." Sirius said enthusiastically. "You did it. You're an Animagus now! Go ahead, take a look in the window at your reflection."

Harry turned his head slowly to look at the window, not noticing right away that he was a few feet shorter than he really was. When his reflection came into focus, Harry yelped… but it came out as a yowl. 

__

I'm a panther! A black panther! His eyes went wide as he watched the image of a black panther jump and begin to growl.

He could hear Sirius laughing, and turned to scowl at him.

"If you're that scared, go ahead and turn back. Remember… _Anjamori_."

Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. _Anjamori_.

With another loud POP! Harry was back to his original height, human and all.

"That was the weirdest thing I've ever experienced in my life!" Harry looked down at his human hands, which were black paws just moments before.

"Yes, it is strange in the beginning… but you get used to it. Besides- your animal form is the essence of your true soul. Mine is represented by a large black dog. _You_ are represented by a black panther. The panther's qualities reflect your own." Sirius patted his back.

"What qualities do I possess that a panther has? I… I thought I would…" Harry trailed off uncertainly.

"Thought what? That you'd be a stag like your father?" Sirius thought a moment, walking off a little to look out the window. "No… each person's Animagus form is unique, it's not hereditary. Your father was proud, headstrong, capable of taking care of himself, and able to lead when others could not. Those are, I believe, the qualities of the stag. You, on the other hand, are a free spirit… powerful, solitary, intelligent, adaptable, and resourceful. Panthers have those qualities as well. So, it is not surprising that you should transform into one."

Harry looked at the floor and breathed in slowly. He _was_ all those things that Sirius said. It made him feel uncertain, however. Was it a _good_ sign that he was a panther… or a _bad_ one? Harry wasn't sure what made him wonder about such a thing, but it distracted his already troubled thoughts.

"The only thing, however, Harry, is how to make a big wild cat blend in on the city streets. People don't necessarily keep panthers as pets like a house cat or dog. I don't know why I didn't think you'd transform into anything but. Moro will not be too happy about this." Sirius turned to him.

Harry looked up at him with an expression that made Sirius cock his head with bewildered concern.

"You can't change who I am inside… Moro will just have to deal with it."

*

Despite the fact that his Animagus form was a panther, Harry still managed to work with Sirius during several more undercover investigations and ambushes. With each victory, Harry's spirits lifted, as there were no more casualties. His skills improved each time, and Sirius felt more confident in putting him into the confrontations. Just his appearance alone made the Death Eaters uneasy and even reports of Voldemort's own personal skirmishes in public began to stop. This, however, worried Harry. He knew Voldemort too well for him to just give up. Voldemort would come up with another plan to kill him, and Harry became more cautious than ever. 

And so another year had passed.

Harry had just returned from a short visit with the Weasleys, sitting down heavily in the now-worn armchair next to Sirius' in front of their fire at Stag's Head. In one year, Harry had grown to his full adult stature. It also showed in his face, although the days of stress could be seen clearly, making him look older. A long, tired sigh from behind him announced that Sirius was home. A hand suddenly appeared in front of his face holding a steaming mug of tea, and Harry took it gratefully as Sirius sat down in his chair beside him.

"So… how is everyone?" he asked wearily.

"Great. Ginny's job at the Ministry is working out well." Harry took a long sip of his tea.

"Ah, good for her." Sirius nodded deeply. Although, he looked at Harry with a deep gaze that made Harry glance at him sidelong.

"What?"

"I'm curious. If… _when_… our jobs become needless, what do you plan to do afterwards?" Sirius fixed him with his intense and authoritative stare.

"Er…" Harry colored slightly. "Not sure. Why do you ask?"

He shrugged. "Just wondering."

"Ah." Harry looked back down into his steaming mug. He thought for a long, hard moment. "You know… it's really odd… but for some strange reason, I'm more afraid of the distant future than the not-so-distant future."

"Really?" Sirius looked nonchalant, but there was a glint in his eyes that made Harry look at him suspiciously.

"Yes. You wouldn't have an opinion on this feeling, would you?"

Sirius looked like he was trying hard not to smile, shrugging again and looking away into the fire.

"Oh… well, every man is afraid of the distant future. But the future comes at different times for different men. The only thing you can do is follow your heart and do what it tells you to do… then everything will turn out just fine."

It was Harry's turn to give him a sidelong glance.

"Since when did you get so philosophical?"

"Since I grew up." Sirius grinned.

"Oh, well then… that must have been very recently, 'cause I have yet to notice." He grinned back.

"Hey." Sirius pointed a finger at him. He opened his mouth again, but there was a sudden loud bang from the fire. Jumping slightly, they both looked into the sparkling embers to see the head of Moro looking back at them with a hurried expression.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything important." He said shortly.

Sirius sat up straight and cleared his throat.

"Err… no sir, not at all. What can we do for you?"

"We've got a serious problem," Morro thought a moment. "No pun intended, Black."

Harry held back an outburst, but a snort slipped out. Sirius glanced at him with a hint of laughter himself.

"We can be there in a second, sir." Harry began to stand up.

"No, Potter… this can't wait. I've got every man and woman enrolled in the Society scattered all over the place already, and I can't do it fast enough. The thing is, You-Know-Who has gone abroad. No one can find out anything on where he is. But one thing we know for sure- he's not in the country. Reports have been flooding in for the past 24 hours from every major country of gruesome Death Eater activity. You-Know-Who has been working on his foreign relations- gaining allies in France, Spain, America, and Japan. And the scary thing is… it appears that dark art activity here in Britain has ceased. I've already talked with the foreign leaders, and they've got their own resources strained. However, Japan is in the most need of assistance. I have already sent most of my aurors out to America and Spain, but the best of the best is being called for in Japan. Potter… I believe you are ready to go solo."

Harry's eyes went wide and he immediately looked to Sirius. His face was set and grim; he didn't look at Harry. Harry's heart began to beat faster, unsure if the feeling he was having was excitement, fear, or both.

"If Black feels you are ready… but I already deem you so… you're going to Japan to meet with Minister Yao Summon. He will fill you in on the details. Black, I need you here to sweep the region in case there _are_ Death Eaters lying in wait." Moro said coarsely.

"With all due respect, sir… Japan is so far away. Yes… yes, I believe Harry is ready to work alone, but-" Sirius began.

"But under the current circumstances, I'm afraid we have no choice." Moro interrupted and turned back to Harry. "Do you accept this assignment, Mr. Potter?"

Harry bit his lip and his eyes wandered around the room for a moment. To work all alone, in a country thousands of miles away where they spoke a different language… to most likely encounter his greatest enemy- it was the reason he became an auror. He glanced at Sirius again, who refused to meet his eyes. However, Harry saw him nod slightly… just enough encouragement to let him decide.

"Mr. Potter?"

"Yes, Mr. Moro. I accept the assignment."

*

It was a hot June night that evening, and Harry had his large bedroom window open as he sat at his desk. Hedwig was perched on his shoulder, preening both herself and his hair at the same time. He was used to the usual avian affection, and paid her no mind as he continued to write the long letter he was involved with.

_… and it won't be so lonely. I'll probably meet some Japanese aurors and make some interesting friends! But, don't fret… you and everyone else will be on my mind every minute of every day I'm gone. Not that I don't already think of you and everyone else every moment of every day! I'm sorry I'm going even further away, but the sooner this gets done… the sooner I can be home for good…_

"Harry? Are you busy?"

Sirius was standing in the doorframe, wearing a sleeveless shirt and boxers that he usually wore to bed in the summer. His face was tight with worry, even though he was obviously fighting to look cheerful. Harry turned and smiled, flipping the letter over.

"No, come on in."

Slowly, Sirius wandered in, trying to look nonchalant and sat down cross-legged on Harry's bed. He folded his arms behind his head and leaned back, letting out a long breath. Harry watched him with a small smile, ruffling Hedwig's feathers as she began to nibble at his ear.

"What's up?" he asked his godfather.

Sirius was silent a moment, before he took a deep breath and exhaled loudly again.

"Have you ever heard the story about the Trees and the Ax?" he asked suddenly.

Harry cocked his head and thought a moment.

"No. I haven't, why?"

"I was just thinking… it was an old story I once heard a long time ago. I gave it no thought at the time, for it had no meaning to me then. But… now, strangely, it's come back to me. It goes- _a woodsman came into the forest and asked the Trees to provide him with a handle for his ax. Some of the Trees, wishing to save themselves, told the Woodsman where he could find a very young Ash Tree. The Woodsman then pulled the Ash Tree out of the ground. No sooner had the Woodsman carved the Ash Tree into a sturdy handle than he began to use his ax. He set to work right and left, felling the noblest giants of the forest. An old Oak, mourning the destruction of the mighty trees that had been his friends, said to a Cedar Tree nearby, 'If we had not given up the Ash Tree to please the Woodsman, we all might have stood for hundreds of years.' 'Yes,' said the Cedar Tree sadly. 'We should have known.'_"

Harry stared at him until Sirius cleared his throat uncomfortably under his gaze.

"And?"

"And… well… the saying afterwards goes that _if we want our own lives protected, we must protect the lives of others_. I was thinking- that's a lot like the assignment Moro has put you on. At first, I was against sending the best auror to a foreign country when the root of the problem is right here at home. But… in order to keep matters from getting worse, you need to be there to see what you can do. Japanese lives are just as valuable as British. In turn, we save ourselves." Sirius shrugged.

"Okay, you're sudden transitions to philosophical wisdom is beginning to really scare me, Sirius." Harry blinked.

"Excuse me, but I _am_ your senior… thus I'm supposed to know all this wise nonsense and convey it all without hopelessly confusing you." Sirius crossed his arms. "And I'm serious… no pun intended. Plus, I am your godfather and so I am always right."

Harry laughed so hard he fell to the floor, sending Hedwig to flap hard to the windowsill and watch disapprovingly. Sirius began to chuckle himself, but as Harry calmed down, he fixed him with his most piercing look.

"Harry, this is a major step. You'll be on your own… away from all your friends- and me. I won't be there behind you. I just want you to remember all that you've learned and keep your focus and a clear head."

Harry quieted and looked out the window. Hedwig had then began preening herself on the sill, most likely enjoying the light summer breeze that blew in from the sea. Sirius didn't say anything more; the waves' crashing on the rocky shore filled the room with its roar. Everything that Sirius had said Harry knew full well already. It had been a long time since he had been alone, but not long enough for him to forget. He didn't like it, but loneliness and solving situations on his own was how he was raised. Going to Japan would not be as bad as everyone made it seem to be.

"But I know you can do this. Everyone who loves you, including myself especially, is very proud of you. I know your parents would too." Sirius whispered.

Harry looked back at him and nodded. With a small smile, Sirius got up and hugged him, then left the room for the night. The candlelight in the hall went out, and Harry turned back to his letter-

_… I miss you with all my heart, and because I do it'll only get me home faster. There is nothing to worry about, so keep your chin up! I'll write you from Japan!_

Goodbyes are not forever.

Love,

Harry

*

The owl from the Society that had arrived overnight with Harry's assignment papers made it certain that he left on time. It didn't leave until he was dressed and ready to go, with Sirius trudging behind him with a mug of coffee and a muffin.

"Sirius, you know coffee, aparating, and me don't mix." Harry grumbled as he packed some last minute items.

"You need to eat something! For Merlin's sake, it's 5:00 AM!" Sirius shoved the mug in his hand.

"Exactly why I can't ingest anything! It's too early!" Harry shoved the mug back.

"Do not force me to bind your arms and legs together and force this down your throat!" Sirius growled.

_He would do it, too_. Harry thought grouchily. With a roll of his eyes, he reluctantly downed half the mug and ate the entire muffin.

"Good boy." Sirius grinned mockingly, dodging Harry's reaction of a blow to the head.

"I'm ready… I think I have everything. Don't I?" He asked Sirius.

"Looks like it." Sirius shoved his hands in his pockets, looking especially forlorn. Harry sighed, biting his lip as he looked at his godfather.

"Well, er… time to go then."

"Yep. Don't wanna be late. Got to set a good reputation and show those Japanese how professional the British are." Sirius averted his eyes.

"Yeah…" Harry was fighting real hard to keep his face straight.

"Take care of yourself, Harry. I… I'll miss you." Sirius looked at him then.

Harry hugged him, forcing himself not to loose his composure. Before he could do so, he apparated with a POP! Away from his home… away from his loved ones… to a place more dangerous than anyone could predict.

~*~

__

"So you left Britain."

"Yes."

"Did you know what you were heading in to?"

"Yes… and no."

"Did you really_ expect to come home?"_

"Of course. What young person wouldn't?"

"But you weren't the average young person… you knew better."

"Yes… but I was stubborn."

"You still are."

"Thank you."

"I can see you still have a sense of humor."

"Perhaps."

"You came home, though."

"Yes."

"But you didn't really_ come home."_

"Hmm."

"What happened?"

"Destiny. Destiny happened."

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Author's Note: So, what did you think? That last part there was dialogue between Harry and Erin, from the prologue (since the older Harry is telling this story). I'm sorry if the way I write seems blunt and choppy (like with details and action, etc.) Maybe when I have absolutely nothing to do, endless creative energy, and a lot of yummy snacks- I'll be able to write the way I want to & the way a story should be written. Otherwise, I still have this #$@#% high school to finish, fatigue caused by this @$@#$% high school, and no yummy snacks because my family eats too fast. ::Sighs and knocks head on desk several times:: But hey, SUMMER IS SOON! And summer means… SOMEWHAT FREE TIME FOR THE THEN NEWLY GRADUATED… me! Now, let me thank ye wonderful reviewers:

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Suzybeth- thank you!

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Portia- yes, the story seems heart-breaking… I'm not sure if the ending is going to be happy or not yet.

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Eagle Eyed Reviewer- I'm glad you liked the quote!

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Trinity- as always, I look forward to your reviews. Thank you! I'm looking forward to writing some kick-butt action… so keep an eye out!

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Padfootmew- behold, Sirius appeared! I'm not sure about Lupin, though. I may slap him in there somehow… keep reading!

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Moi- yes, it's sad… but I try to add happy in it.

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Mike Potter- I go as fast as I can, man!

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FringeElement- stalking me? ::looks behind self:: Hmm… well, here, I posted a chapter… you don't have to anymore ::grins::

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Sabecat- I did it again! ::jumps up and down:: I did it again! Sheesh, sounds like a Brittany Spears song, huh? Let's hope I continue the trend!

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ColeFreak- I know how hard it is to read slowly, but you can always re-read too! If you come over and do my homework for me, maybe the chapters will get done faster ::grins innocently::

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Debra- sad and slow, yes. But, hey, it's good to read about someone else's problems, isn't it? ::smiles::

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No Reply- Thanks!

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Name- Mucho gracias!

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Hymm- good, action scenes make me nervous, like I said… I'm glad I pulled it off realistically.

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Pheonix Dirk- ::salutes:: Will do.

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Raew- ::blushes:: thank you very much! Yes, I do believe I've set myself up for some work in college… but let's hope my professors are a lot better than the run-of-the-mill public English peeps- either that or I kick my butt in gear.

Well, there ya go! Be sure and review this time too, OK? Reviews are mundo mucho importanto! In the meantime, check out my website [http://www.theworldofreneepotter.disneyfansites.com][1] and look around. I've done some updating to almost all the pages. Plus, it's updated several times a week, so bookmark it. Well, gotta go, I have a report on Barnes & Noble due in economics tomorrow for my evil evil teacher! Cya soon!

"The people who try to kill me, and the people who fight against me, are my enemies." ~Heero Yuy (Gundam Wing)

~OrcaPotter

OrcaMorph@aol.com

   [1]: http://www.theworldofreneepotter.disneyfansites.com/



	6. Searching

Author's Note: Oh, boy… did this take me long enough ****

Author's Note: Oh, boy… did this take me long enough. And this is even the shortest chapter ever! I'm real sorry, but now that school is out, I've been going around everywhere doing everything because of a family situation… and of course my huge graduation bash on the 31st. I've had NO time to work on this, and what little time I've had I've had a serious case of writer's fatigue. However, I believe (and my beta readers agree) that what goes on in this chapter will suffice for now. _There is real Japanese spoken in this chapter_! To help you, use this guide to translate:

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hai- yes

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"Ima sugu, koko wo shuppatsu sureba ma ni au hazu desu"- "If we leave right now, we can recover them in time."

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"Iin ja nai desu ka?"- "Does it really matter?"

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yamero- enough

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damare- shut up

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ojison- sir/mister

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senshi- warrior

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otome- maiden

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baka- stupid/idiot

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gomen- sorry (informal) **gomen nasai**- sorry (formal)

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hi- fire

Hope you enjoy! Remember to review!

**__**

Special thanks: To RavenNat and 007, my beta readers and drive

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Chapter Five

Searching

Perhaps it was the weather… or maybe it was the unnatural silence in the air. Whatever it was, when Harry apparated onto a foggy street, the immediate feeling he got when he arrived was that of pure dread. The kind of feeling one has when they know something terrible is going to happen… and they are powerless to stop it. Harry felt the despair around him like a palpable emotion- overpowering and heavy. 

His large rucksack suddenly appeared at his side, and Harry bent down to retrieve it. Hedwig, in her cage, appeared shortly after. It was apparent that she was feeling the same thing Harry was, and began to hoot loudly with discontent.

"Shh, it's okay, girl. Don't worry." He cooed, trying to calm himself down at the same time. Suddenly, a sharp pain flashed through his head, and Harry quickly grabbed at his forehead. His scar was burning.

"_Voldemort_." He hissed to himself with loathing. "He's here." 

Harry rubbed at his scar until the sharp pain dulled. As he began to look around him more clearly, there was the sound of cars coming to a stop somewhere near by. Harry quickly shrunk his stuff, including Hedwig, and gathered it up before anyone could see. He then ducked behind a dumpster. It was obvious he had apparated into a Muggle area.

"Ima sugu, koko wo shuppatsu sureba ma ni au hazu desu!" Yelled someone in Japanese.

"Hai." Responded someone else.

"The dark lord will not be happy about this." Said someone else in English.

"Iin ja nai desu ka?"

Harry had no clue what it was they were discussing, but there was no other "dark lord" he could think of. These must have been Death Eaters-Japanese followers.

"Of course it matters, you fool! If he finds out that we've lost them, we're dead! _All_ of us!" Shouted the English-speaking man.

"Yamero! He _won't_ find out. "

"How can you be so sure? These are only just the most important tools to the dark lord's complete control of the world! If we screw this up…"

"Damare! Stop whining. We go now."

Harry heard loud shuffling of feet, car doors slamming, and then the squeal of tires as the cars sped away. He let out a deep breath and carefully stepped out from his hiding place.

_What was that all about?_ He thought to himself, pulling an especially peeved Hedwig from his pocket and returned her to normal size. She persisted to hoot loudly and flap her wings, and Harry held her out at length to keep from getting beat up. Then he got an idea.

"Hedwig… can you follow those cars?"

She stopped hooting and flapping her wings, eyeing him haughtily.

"Please? It's very important!"

Hedwig blinked, hesitated, and finally crept to his shoulder to nibble his ear slightly before taking off in the direction of the cars.

"Come back when they've stopped!" he called to her retreating form, which disappeared quickly in the fog. _Now what?_ He asked himself as he looked around him again.

"Now, you come with me." Said a voice, suddenly from behind him.

Harry whipped around, wand outstretched, with lightning reflexes. He had half a spell set before he could make out whom it was he was facing. Or rather, looking down on.

"Who…-?"

"Not wise, Mister Potter. Not wise. Now owl will either be seen or lost. The Dark is not ignorant. It is not that easy. I thought you know better."

It was a small, stout looking Japanese man. His robes were not the wizarding type of Britain, but more authentic to the Far East. If it were not for the slick looking fine-colored wand he held firmly in his small hands, this man would pass as any ordinary Japanese Muggle on the street. Long strands of black hair jutted at neat angles over his face, reflecting what little light could be seen. He was, however, much older than Harry- older than Sirius, as well. Yet the power he radiated immediately made Harry sibilant to his fierce gaze.

"Er…" Harry stammered.

"Silence. Keep your tongue and your mind and you might stay alive. And yes, I am Minister Yao Summon. You are Harry Potter." The man barked in rough English.

"Yes, sir." Harry gaped at him, astonished. _Is he some sort of empath?_

"No." Summon said abruptly. "I merely listen more closely to others than you do. You think too loud."

Harry blinked, speechless.

"Better. Now, come with me. We might be able to fix what you might have already damaged."

It was immediately determined that Harry did not like this foreign minister, but kept his thoughts as quietly to himself as possible. If Summon overheard, by whatever means he used to overhear, he did not say anything. 

Summon lit his wand, using the Japanese language, and led Harry through a maze of turns and dark alleyways. Not once wanting to displease his superior any further, Harry did not question their destination. Instead, he carried his bag close to his side, walking as straight-backed as possible. The darkness and fog made him feel uneasy, so he fell back upon his instincts and training as an auror to make himself more aware of his surroundings. Summon made a deep sound in his throat several times when Harry spread out his senses, as if satisfied.

Then, suddenly, they stepped out into stark daylight.

Harry squinted from the abrupt change in light, barely able to see Summon make his way up a stone path that they had walked out onto. They had been traveling on cobblestones in the alleys, but when Harry's vision adjusted to the light, they were no longer in an alley. Instead, they were surrounded by an ancient forest, cut down the middle by a gentle stream. Summon walked over an arched wooden bridge, heading for a small enclosure walled with paper paneling. Astonished, Harry quickened his step to catch up. It didn't take him long with his height compared to Summon.

Summon removed his sandal-like shoes and placed them next to the sliding door. When he stepped inside and stopped stone-still, not looking back or saying anything, Harry looked down as his own muddy boots. As quickly as possible, he pried them off and dropped them carefully next to Summon's sandals. Still without a word, Summon walked further inside and Harry followed.

"Er…" Harry murmured uncertainly. "Is this your headquarters?"

The little man walked into a room with a low table surrounded by pillows and sat down on the one at the head. When he still didn't say anything, Harry choose the pillow next to him and heeded his example.

"Where are your other officials?" Harry continued to probe without a reply.

"You speak too much." Summon barked suddenly, making Harry jump.

"Er…"

"If you have nothing to say, don't make noise. You are noisy." Summon snapped his fingers and a kettle with two small cups appeared on the table instantly.

Harry was flabbergasted. This little man was not getting him anywhere. Didn't he realize that Voldemort's followers were in that alley he had been in- and that meant that usually you do something about it? Instead, there he was, sitting on a pillow on the floor, drinking tea and being scolded at like a child.

"You wouldn't be here if I had my officials." Summon said finally, pouring the tea.

"So, they're on assignment." Harry stated, nodding as he let out a long breath through his nose. Now they were getting somewhere.

"No. They are dead." He took a long sip of his tea.

Harry nearly choked.

"A-all of them?!"

Summon glanced at him slowly.

"We did not have such a problem as yours before the dark lord came. There was no need for many _Miros_, or aurors, as you call yourselves in your country. They either went to their death... or went to join his side. It is a surprise to me that the evil lord has not taken over the country yet. He already has absolute control of our justice system."

Harry felt overwhelmed. What did they expect him to do? Go after Voldemort and his minions all by himself in this strange land? Harry hadn't faced Voldemort personally since the summer of his sixth year at Hogwarts. Voldemort was twice as powerful now as he was then. Harry was considered the most powerful wizard next to Dumbledore, and a match for Voldemort… but it was uncertain that him alone could defeat him.

"You _are_ Harry Potter, are you not?" Summon stared at him closely.

"Yes. But…" Harry shook his head.

"Then you can do this. Only you can. There is no help anymore. Only you." Summon looked back into his teacup.

"You want me to defend the _entire_ country all by myself?" Harry asked him dubiously.

The little man looked at him indifferently.

"Have you not fought the dark lord before?"

"Yes, but…"

"What is the difference?"

"He's more powerful now! And with not only Death Eaters from England, but now here as well! His force is without numbers!"

"You've been trained. You are experienced. You can do this. Now, no more talk. Rest now." Summon stood up suddenly and strode with surprising speed out of the room before Harry could protest. He sat there, alone in the silent room, mouth gaping open.

_What have I gotten myself into now_? He thought to himself as he gathered to his feet.

"OJISON!" 

"AHH! WHAT THE HE-!" Harry jumped a foot in the air. A girl, maybe a year younger than Ginny, stood suddenly before him. Her dark hair was tied up in two buns and her eyes were abnormally large and glossy. She was looking at him like a teenager at a boy band concert. "Er… hello."

"Oh, ojison! Are you the senshi from England?" She folded her hands together and looked at him with adoration.

"Er… senshi? I'm an auror, if that's what you mean… yes." Harry uncomfortably scratched the back of his neck, flinching under her gaze.

"Then you are the Harry Potter! Oh, what an honor! I am Eboshi, your otome." She suddenly bounced up into his face.

"Otome? Er…" He unknowingly broke out into a sweat.

"Your maiden, your servant!" She giggled loudly.

"EBOSHI! BAKA DAMARE!" Summon shouted from his room.

Eboshi looked annoyed and settled back on her heels. Harry breathed a sigh of relief, for once thanking the old man for his abrupt rudeness. She sighed loudly, mumbled a bit in Japanese with an angry tone, and quickly grabbed Harry's bag before he could bend down.

"Gomen. Minister Summon is cranky. Come, I'll take you to your room!"

She led Harry through the empty building to a small, plain room. After trying feebly to get him to engage in a lively conversation, Eboshi gave up and left. Relieved, Harry collapsed on the bed. It was later than mid-afternoon, and he was tired and confused.

_Oh, what do I do now? What would Sirius say if I could contact him? I really _am_ all on my own, now. Looks like I'll have to figure this out by myself._

Lost in his thoughts and worry, Harry closed his eyes and unexpectedly fell asleep.

*

"Ojison! Oh, ojison, please wake up!"

Harry groggily opened his eyes, only to face a wide-eyed Eboshi staring intently at him with a rushed expression. It was dark in his room, the only light coming from a candle she was holding with her left hand. Her right was shaking Harry's shoulder quickly.

"Wake up!"

"I'm up, I'm up. What's wrong?" Harry blinked several times and scratched his head.

"It's Minister Summon, ojison! He's gone! He left when a white owl arrived not too long ago, all beat up and bloody!" Eboshi explained quickly in a squeaky voice.

"White owl?!" Harry sat up abruptly, ignoring the quick onrush of dizziness as result. "Hedwig? She's back? Is she okay?"

Without an answer, Harry got up and left the room hurriedly. Eboshi ran behind him on his heels.

"Oh, ojison! You must go after Minister Summon! He does not have as much power as you do, as a senshi! If he should die then all hope is lost!"

Harry barely heard her. All that mattered was Hedwig, and he ran into the dining room where he had sat with Summon earlier to see his beloved snowy owl lying unnaturally on the table where she landed. His heart stopped and his jaw dropped.

"Hedwig!"

She gave a small, weak hoot, but did not move. Harry grabbed her in his arms, checking her over gently. Her feathers were matted with dry blood and the bones in her wings were broken in more than one place. Harry felt despair and anger well inside of him like a balloon.

"Who did this to you?!"

Hedwig's hoot was barely more than a whisper. As he looked her over further, Harry could tell that she had been hit with a very powerful hex. It was amazing that she was able to find him, but it was apparent that she was meant to be found. The Death Eaters in the cars she was following did this. They now know that Japan has a new weapon… _him_.

"Oh, Hedwig. Oh, I am so sorry… this is my fault, I never should have sent you after those cars. No wonder Summon said I made a mistake."

"Ojison, you _must_ find Minister Summon before something terrible happens! Only you can do it!" Eboshi wrought her hands nervously.

But Harry wasn't listening. His very first best friend, his beloved owl, was dying in his arms… and all because of his careless mistake. He just couldn't bare it. Without thinking, he said the spell that put a splint around Hedwig's wings and yelled at Eboshi to fetch him water and a cloth to clean the blood off her wings. Eboshi did so hesitantly, murmuring a small protest. Harry ignored her, and persisted to do what he could for Hedwig.

"But, Senshi Potter, what about Minister Summon?" Eboshi asked him, handing over a damp towel.

"He can take care of himself." He answered absently. Hedwig was no longer making any attempts to hoot and had stopped trying to move. Harry fought back the tears threatening to come.

_Please, Hedwig. Don't leave me! I'm sorry I did this… please, don't die!_ Harry screamed in his mind.

But the slow rise and fall of his snowy owl's chest slowed down further, until it no longer moved at all. The silence in the room was staggering.

"NOOO! Oh, God… noooo!" Harry sobbed, holding the lifeless body of his loyal friend to his chest. "No! Hedwig, no!"

"Ojison…" Eboshi gently placed her hand on his shoulder. "Gomen nasai."

Harry shuddered and abruptly turned to her, his face twisted in sorrowful pain and anger. He balled his fists, still holding Hedwig's body in one arm.

"_Where did he go_! Where did Summon go?!"

Eboshi jumped back in fright, looking at Harry in surprised fear.

"H-he s-said s-s-something about T-Tokyo!" she stammered.

Without looking back, Harry turned around and walked out the front door. He grabbed his boots with his free hand and walked out further into the garden. Under a beautiful cherry blossom, he laid Hedwig to rest. Harry tearfully said his respects, but was too caught up in anger to allow himself to mourn further. He was angry not only at those who had hexed her, but at himself for allowing it to happen. In an enraged fit, Harry hastily put his boots on and disapparated on the spot. 

*

It was sunset, and the streets of Tokyo were alive with the busy activities of Japanese Muggles. An open market was especially busy, selling live octopus at one stand and various anime merchandise at another. People were everywhere, so another person seemingly appearing out of nowhere did not stand out too much.

Harry stood amongst a bustling crowd that was commuting to and from the open market. His face was flush with anger and sadness, looking around intently to first make out exactly where he had apparated to. All that was plainly obvious was that he was in downtown Tokyo. How on Earth he was going to find Minister Summon was something he was too upset to think about.

"You look like you need help."

Harry jumped, grabbed his wand without thinking, and countered the owner of the voice that had spoke. He was facing a man not that much older than him, same height, with blonde hair. However, what Harry noticed most was the cloak around this man's shoulders with a small, embroidered American flag on the hem near the collar.

"Excuse me?" Harry blurted out hoarsely.

"From one auror to another, I greet you." The man said. It was the international greeting from one wizard official to another, taught at all institutions worldwide.

"And I you, sir." Harry slowly pocketed his wand.

"The name's Cobal… Roger Cobal. Northeastern District 12, American Auror Society. How 'bout you?" He asked, completely ignoring the Japanese that continue to bustle about them.

"Harry Potter, member of the Royal Aurors Society." Harry shook hands with him.

"An honor to meet you, Mr. Potter. It's reassuring that you're over here working with us." Cobal said calmly, without the awe.

Harry eyed him carefully, still hot and slightly shaking with anger. Cobal looked at him back with a mildly concerned expression.

"Something's happened?"

"I'm… I'm not sure. But if something hasn't already, something will soon." Harry gritted his teeth.

Cobal opened his mouth as if he was going to ask something else, but stopped himself. Instead, he looked around at their surroundings shrewdly.

"Hard to imagine such a largely dense country falling under complete and utter magical control, hmm?"

"That's what we're here to prevent. Although, I'm afraid the magical minister of Japan has gone missing." Harry said dispassionately.

The American auror whipped his head around to look at Harry intensely.

"Are you certain of that?"

"Yes. I was staying at… his place, I believe. I had sent my owl out to spy on some Death Eaters, and she came back… she came back, badly injured. She died, and Minister Summon came here to Tokyo in pursuit of… well, the Death Eaters." Harry said solemnly.

"I'm terribly sorry about your owl… but we must get moving, then, if Summon has gone astray. Come with me, there are others of us here too."

Cobal started off at a brisk walk, Harry following closely on his heels. Harry tried his best to pretend he was just another tourist looking at the sights, but two men in cloaks intently focused on getting away was all too obvious. Some stopped to stare, and Harry made to mention this to Cobal, before the American stopped short, causing Harry to run into him.

"What the…?!"

Cobal was as still as a statue, hardly breathing. Harry moved beside him to see what had caused his abrupt stop. What he saw nearly made him loose his breath himself.

"Speak of the devil…" Cobal whispered bitterly, not taking his eyes off the three tall and dark figures before them.

"We can take them." Harry murmured, but Cobal shook his head.

"Check it out." He inclined his head to show Harry that Death Eaters, pairs of them blocking every exit, surrounded them. Muggles were everywhere as well, and some were beginning to look dumbly concerned.

"Sh-"

"Where are your friends?" Harry grumbled, reaching inside of his robes for his wand.

"Everywhere but here, it would appear." Cobal grumbled back. For a long, tense moment, they stared down the menacing figures… before Cobal sighed loudly. "Harry, cause a distraction for the Muggles… and stand real close to me."

"What are-?"

"Just do it!" Cobal snapped, reaching into a pocket in his cloak.

Harry searched his rattled mind for a spell suitable for the task. When he couldn't come up with a spell, he looked at Cobal desperately.

"I don't know anything that would do the trick for so many people!" He hissed.

"Oh, for the love of… just yell out _hi_!" Cobal said.

"Hi? Oh, well… HI! HI! HI! Everybody, HI!"

The surrounding crowd looked up in a panic, and some dropped their things and ran, screaming HI. Harry looked bemusedly at the entire scene, before violently shaken back to reality as Cobal grabbed his arm. Shocked, Harry looked at Cobal's outstretched hand that held a glowing red orb. Before he could ask what it was, Cobal went into a crouching stance. Completely confused, Harry watched as he brought around his arm with the orb to slam it into the ground. Instantly, a wall of fire shot up around them and spread out, hitting the Death Eaters. Market vending stands went up in flames, people were still running and screaming, although even more terrified now because of the fire. Yet the Death Eaters merely held up both of their hands to block the blow. Cobal cursed loudly.

"Time for plan B." He muttered.

"What's plan B?" Harry asked, coming up back to back with Cobal.

"I was hoping _you_ would tell me."

"Well, I didn't entirely plan on encountering this situation so soon." Harry grumbled fearfully.

"Neither did I." Cobal grumbled back.

"What's wrong, Potter?! Too scared to take your own defense without your mighty protectors?!" Shouted out a Death Eater's voice that sounded vaguely familiar. Harry said nothing.

"Split up." Cobal said suddenly.

"Where?" Harry hissed.

"Anywhere but here, just RUN!" He pushed Harry aside and started shooting out random spells at the surrounding Death Eaters. Harry gripped his wand tighter and joined in, hexing the ones that flanked them. The market place was now ablaze with fire from Cobal's orb, and deserted. When the Death Eaters he was attacking began to fall back, Harry chased them down a walkway that was surrounded by burning fruit stands. The whole time, Harry let his anger help his aim. Never before had he been on such an attack. Hatred blinded his eyes, overpowering him. He let his grief go loose, losing track of everything except making them pay. Harry would make them all _pay_ for killing Hedwig… he would seek out Voldemort and make him _pay_ for all that he had done, for killing his parents… for everything. Nothing could stop him, nothing.

Except the one Death Eater he couldn't see.

****

Author's Note: Again, sorry it's so ridiculously short… but finals were last week, then I have family here all this week, graduation is Thursday… and to top it all off- I am going to New York in less than 2 weeks! I'll _try_ to work on chapter 6 between now and then, but don't expect anything 'till mid-June. This story may have 3 chapters left, and then there's _Shadows of Yesterday_ to finish. ::sigh:: What happened to rest, relaxation, and endless writing time?

Normally, I would have thanked all of you right here, but it's 11 pm at night, I have to get up at the crack of dawn tomorrow, I'll be gone all day, Thursday you can forget doing anything but getting teary eyed and partying… and Friday, gosh, I'm chock full of stuff. Sorry, I'll thank you all personally later. For now, THANK YOU, ALL YOU WONDERFUL REVIEWING-TYPE PEOPLE, who graciously take the few precious seconds of their lives to review this story, and all my stories. If you would be SO KIND, as to review AGAIN, for this insignificant little chapter, I would be EVER SOOO HAPPY!

[http://www.theworldofreneepotter.disneyfansites.com][1] Go there, updated, stuff… you go, you see, you enjoy… 'nough said.

__

"When nothing makes sense, I'll fight believing only in myself." ~Heero Yuy (Gundam Wing)

~OrcaPotter

[OrcaMorph@aol.com][2]

   [1]: http://www.theworldofreneepotter.disneyfansites.com/
   [2]: mailto:OrcaMorph@aol.com



	7. Ambush

Chapter Six ****

Author's Note: It's been a long time since I've posted a chapter, at least for me it has. A whole week in New York, than an additional week to type this up has brought my absence total to two weeks! Yet, your wait, I believe, has been worth it. This whopper of a chapter packs a punch; I take the liberty to say. So, better to get this up sooner than later. _Do_ be sure to review, and enjoy!

**__**

Special Thanks: This chapter has now been revised & edited, re-posted without typos thanks to the wonderful RavenNat. I wouldn't feel right posting without her approval!

****

Attention: Again, this chapter has some actual Japanese words in it. To help you, the following new words have been defined- **baka atama** _means stupid/idiot mind/head_; **Inu** _means dog_; **ai**_ means love_; **neko** _means cat; _**kawaii**_ means cute/pretty_; **oiishi**_ means delicious/yummy_; and **nani**_ means what_. Don't worry, the Japanese lingo ends in this chapter J

****

Chapter Six

Ambush

There was a persistent dripping noise, echoing off the hallowed walls. The ground was hard and wet, rough and gritted with mud. There was little light filtering in through Harry's closed eyelids, painfully shutting out his surroundings.

_Where am I? What happened?_ He thought to himself, letting out a soft moan.

"Well, well, well…" A malicious voice echoed dully through Harry's ears. "The famous goody-goody finally decides to wake."

At first, Harry was confused. _Malfoy? How did he get into Gryffindor Tower?_

"Not so tough, now, eh? Without your precious protectors, you're nothing but a worthless bum. Capturing you was too easy!" The voice laughed.

Harry opened his eyes and took in a sharp breath as an enormous headache overtook him. Carefully, he searched for the source of the voice. Aside from the sunlight that was creeping through a bared, small window, darkness surrounded him. Harry opened his eyes and took in a sharp breath as an enormous headache overtook him. Carefully, he searched for the source of the voice. Aside from the sunlight that was creeping through a bared, small window, darkness surrounded him. He was in a stone cell, damp and covered in mildew. Harry struggled to sit up.

"Where am I? Who are you?" He demanded icily.

"Aww, I'm hurt! I was always one of your most _devoted_ peers. It shocks me that you don't recognize my most dashing voice." The voice played.

Harry stumbled to his feet and searched for that familiar voice. He bumped blindly into jail bars, in which the voice laughed… then he knew.

"_Malfoy_!" Harry hissed.

"Took you long enough, but then again, you're not as smart as everyone thinks you are."

"Figures you'd be a Death Eater. Fancy that you expose yourself now. What? Afraid of getting caught back home? Ran away to Japan, did you?" Harry seethed with anger.

"Well, I see you still have your pathetic use of sarcasm." Malfoy sniffed. "And, yes… I ran away to Japan with my master. For you see, the path to our victory starts here! Not back in jolly-'ol England… no, the whole time the answer was here."

"Answer to what?" Harry snapped.

"Wouldn't _you_ like to know? No, I'll leave the honor to my master if you are to know the grand plan. He'll be here soon, and he's very anxious to meet with you again." Malfoy crowed.

"I'm sure." Harry growled dryly. His scar was beginning to throb increasingly every minute.

"As much as I'd like to stay and chat, dear boy, I have important business to take care of. Do try and keep your pretty self clean for the dark lord; wouldn't want to shame your fame by looking all shabby." Laughing, Malfoy turned and left.

"You don't know who you're dealing with, Malfoy!" Harry yelled after him. Malfoy's laughter only got louder, echoing off the walls and resonating in Harry's head. Anger and hatred consumed Harry's soul, nearly beyond control. "MALFOY!"

Harry sank down to his knees and tried his best to sort out all that had happened. What was the last thing he remembered before waking up in this cell? He had run into an American auror, who told him that there were others all around Tokyo. He and Harry were on their way to meet up with the rest, when a group of Death Eaters held them off. The American… Cobal, his name was, used some sort of spell Harry had never seen before. Fire broke out everywhere. Spells were fired rapidly… they split up. Harry chased after some Death Eaters… he had been mad with fury… when everything went black. Next thing he knew, he woke up in this cell with Malfoy's malicious voice taunting him. What had happened to Cobal? Was he in a cell too, nearby? Or was he dead? What of his other team members? Did Sirius know Harry was missing? Ron… what was Ron doing? That stupid Japanese minister… Summon… where was he?

"You… you think too loud, Mister Potter."

Harry violently snapped out of his deep and troubled thoughts at the sound of a small, harsh and tired voice.

"Who's there?" Harry barked.

"More correctly… who _was_ there. Damare, I don't have much time." Harry recognized the small voice as Minister Summon.

"Where are you?"

"On the floor." Summon's voice was weak.

Harry searched the stony ground, finding only puddles, when he saw a small movement in a shadowed corner.

"That's not…?" Harry gasped.

A small bug was mercilessly crushed upon the stone, it's legs waving about uselessly.

"I've been stepped upon." Summon said blankly

Harry's face instantly went pale.

"Oh. My. God. I… I didn't… did I…?"

"No. I was left this way. Now, quiet! I don't have much longer." Summon snapped.

"How… h-how are you talking to me, if you're obviously in an Animagus form?" Harry asked incredulously.

"MUST YOU QUESTION EVERYTHING, BAKA ATAMA?! HUSH! And let me tell you what you must know before I die, you fool!" Summon's bug legs flailed furiously. Harry immediately shut his mouth and went from pale to bright crimson. 

"If you are mortally injured, either as yourself or in your Animagus form, you can't turn back. I was injured as my human self, and transformed when they left me. They returned, thought I had escaped. I was then stepped on by one of them, thinking I was a real bug. They don't know we're Animagi… and they also don't know that Animagi have their own special abilities. If I hadn't been injured, I would be able to escape unnoticed in this form, but _you_ can." Summon said quickly.

"I'm afraid a black panther is a little more noticeable than a bug." Harry lamented, ignoring the shock of Summon knowing that he was an Animagi as well.

"Animagi have their own _special abilities_!" Summon hissed as a stab of pain shot through him. "Figure it out!"

"But-"

"No time to explain… I must tell you what the dark lord's plan is! Y-you… must… l-listen!" Summon's voice was growing fainter and weaker. Harry leaned down closer to hear better. "He's bringing together the four known elements!"

"Four known elements?" Harry whispered.

"The very forces that keep the world together, magical and not! W-with… them… he…" Summon's voice trailed off.

"Minister Summon!" Harry urged him. "Minister… what do these four elements do? Why does Voldemort want them? What is his plan?"

"Time… not much… soon! World… p-power…" Summon's bug legs ceased to move.

"Minister Summon!" Harry prodded his crumpled bug form, but there was no more movement. Summon was dead.

Suddenly, a massive explosion boomed from outside. Harry heard countless people start to scream. There was violent laughter pealing up from the dark passageway beyond Harry's cell. Things were getting very, very serious.

"What am I going to do?" Harry moaned, running his hands through his tousled black hair. Footsteps were beginning to become audible from the hallway among the chaotic noise flooding in from the cell window. Harry's mind began to swim… what was it Summon said?

"Am I going to enjoy this!" Malfoy's voice crooned.

"We can't really touch him, if we do, we're in trouble." Said a dark, almost bored voice.

"Try to contain your excitement, Goyle. Of course I know that, you idiot." Malfoy shot back.

"Hey, where'd he go?"

Harry crouched down low, hiding in the shadows. He watched three hooded black figures stare dubiously into his cell, at a loss for words.

"B-but… I made sure the spells were flawless!" Malfoy raged!

"You're in trouble now…" Said one figure that must have been Crabbe.

"Not _me_, you fool! You two! You're the ones in trouble! You let that worthless scum escape!" Malfoy was livid.

The cell door opened and the three of them stumbled inside. Now was Harry's chance.

RAAAARRRRRROOOOOWWWWW!!!

"AHHHH!"

"What in the name of everything evil?!"

"AHHHH! BIG KITTY! BIG KITTY!"

With amazing strength and agility, Harry plowed his way through the three Death Eaters and out the door. He made sure to scratch them up bad on his way, and sprinted down the damp hall. Chuckling with triumph inside, Harry realized that the spells around the cell were specified only for human wizards. In his panther form, he could get through… thus being able to get past the many other spells set around the passageways he was now running through. Yet, it wasn't long before he began to realize he wasn't really getting anywhere.

_Where on Earth is this place_? He thought bitterly annoyed.

By this time, Harry could hear with his more acute sense of hearing that many other Death Eaters were beginning to fill the passageways. The explosions and screams outside were also clearer. He had to find the rest of Cobal's team, contact home, and get help. There was no way Harry could handle this on his own.

Continuing to sprint in the direction he thought would get him out, Harry wished desperately that he had Ron and Hermione with him. They were always better at figuring things out, as a team. He may be talented, but Harry felt more capable of anything with his friends by his side. But they were back home, in Britain, and Harry was trapped in Tokyo where the city was most likely already doomed. He was so caught up in his wandering thoughts that Harry didn't realize that he had suddenly leapt out into twilight. It was the explosion in front of him that woke him from his troubled thoughts.

KABOOOM!

Harry yelped and skidded away, slinking into a patch of dark trees. He panted and stared incredulously at the spot from which he had appeared. The Death Eaters were hiding out in an old sewage pipe, just outside the city. It was huge, and apparently long out of use. Another explosion of sound and light brought Harry's gaze upward. The city of Tokyo was ablaze in fire and ash. Distant screams, car horns and alarms, more explosions, and the crack of spells could clearly be heard at the outskirts where the sewage pipe was. Harry was standing among a forest surrounding the metropolis, watching the destruction with large green eyes. 

_It's too late. The city has totally succumbed to control. Voldemort has Japan._ Harry blinked rapidly, trying to absorb the fact. What on Earth could he do now?

Angry shouts began to issue from the sewage pipe, snapping Harry back to attention. Still in his panther form, he leapt off toward the city.

It was almost impossible to enter the ruins.

"HI!"

"HELP!"

"Inu! Inu ai! Come!"

People were everywhere, running around all confused. Death Eaters chased them, facing off the few revealing common wizards that dared to fight back. Harry scurried stealthily amongst the debris, carefully avoiding anyone. There was only one thing he could do, he kept reminding himself as he resisted the urge to help, find Voldemort and stop him. 

Ahead of him, Harry could see an apparently abandoned warehouse, charred black from a fire that must have been already put out. Thinking it a good place to better assess the situation and plan out his next move, Harry padded forward quickly to cross inside. He needed only to cross a narrow street from amongst the fallen boxes around him in front of a smoking market stand to make it. Yet as he carefully set out a paw to cross…

"YEEEOOOWWWW!" Harry screamed with a feline tenor. A Death Eater had suddenly stepped out from a hidden part of the market onto his path, stepping on Harry's outstretched paw.

"Baka neko!" The Death Eater shouted irritably, not noticing that Harry was more than just the average alley cat. Harry had already dashed over tumbled cardboard boxes and out of sight, to the left astride the warehouse down to a dead end. The Death Eater must have run out of nearby victims, for with a malicious chuckle, the black shrouded figure followed Harry's clumsy escape precariously.

Harry reached the wall of the dead end, which was much too high even for a black panther to jump. He turned around to face the Death Eater, who was much closer than Harry thought he was. So far, all the Death Eater could see of Harry was his large emerald green eyes.

"Wa neko, neko, neko! Kawaii neko! Oiishi neko!" No need telling Harry now that this cloaked idiot was Japanese. Never the less, Harry was defenseless against an armed Death Eater that could counter him once he found out that the cat he was expecting was really a large black panther. There was really only one thing left to do.

"Ah," the Death Eater chuckled as he focused on Harry's feline eyes. "Neko has kawaii eyes!"

It didn't dawn on the Death Eater at first that the pair of emerald green eyes were suddenly twice the height they were originally. Nor that they were burning with a dangerous glow.

"Natsaku!" he shouted, laughing as he cast a spell at the "cat". But he stopped abruptly, confused, when his spell was simply blocked. "Nani…?"

"What did a cat ever do to you?"

Harry stepped out of the darkness, fully human, with his wand outstretched and himself bristling with power. The Death Eater's jaw dropped to the ground in surprise and fear. Without hesitating, Harry grabbed him by the collar of his cloak and lifted him up with one hand with surprising strength. His anger showed clearly in his eyes.

"Where is your master now?" Harry demanded. The light from another explosion nearby illuminated his face, and the Death Eater caught the glimpse of Harry's scar as his bangs fell to one side. Fearfully, yet trying to sound menacing, the Death Eater began to gabber in Japanese.

"I can easily kill you know, you demon, without a conscious thought. Now, I know you can understand me! Where is Voldemort?!" Harry shouted, violently shaking his captive.

"You only boy!" The Death Eater spat. "Never!"

Harry had to focus very hard not to loose control and shout out the one spell he was ready to use. There was a sudden scuttling sound over a discarded computer monitor box in the corner of the alley, and both Harry and the Death Eater looked. A rat was rummaging around on the box.

"Avada Kedavra!" Harry suddenly shouted, pointing his wand at the rat. Instantly, a blinding red light shot out of his wand, hitting the rat with unrelenting force. The rat fell off the box instantly dead.

A disturbing silence suddenly fell. No explosions or screams could be heard… just the jagged, fearful breathing of the Death Eater now still under Harry's grip… and Harry not breathing at all. He, aside from the required exam at the Society, had never used the killing curse before. Harry had been taught that the curse was never to be used, only under extreme cases of self defense- or in the defense of others in immediate danger. That had never happened. What he had just done to the rat was only to prove his capability. It was uncalled for, but it drove the point home into the Japanese Death Eater's mind.

"Please… no kill! No kill! I do as you ask! Just no kill!" He began to plead tearfully, disgracing his aura as a Death Eater.

Harry felt sick inside, but masked it with a tight swallow and cold stare.

"T-tell me where your master is. Or that rat will be _you_."

After nearly ten minutes of jumbled directions and pointing, Harry hexed the Death Eater with a binding and silencing spell. He dragged him, angry and writhing, to a spot hidden away where his comrades would have a hard time locating him. In disgust at both himself and his tied-up foe, Harry slammed a cardboard box over his head.

"What am I doing?" Harry whispered hoarsely to himself as he stepped away, running his hands through his sweaty hair. Unaware that he was shaking from head to foot, Harry stumbled toward the warehouse he originally was headed for. He didn't bother to see if anyone was around, but by the silence, Harry didn't need to.

Lighting his wand with the Lumos spell, Harry shuffled into the dark warehouse. He closed the door behind him and walked inside further, looking around for any signs of life. Peering closely, he could tell that a lot of people were once in here, despite that this warehouse seemed years out of its proper use. Boxes were turned up here and there, grouped around dusty tables and sheets of parchment. Harry went over to them and looked it all over. While having been abandoned for a while, the way everything was, it looked like whoever was hiding here had only left a short while before.

"International Confederation of Wizards…" Harry read from a lone piece of parchment lying on an upturned bucket. "Western District rescue operation code name: China Tea."

_This must have been where Cobal's team and the other wizards were hiding out_. Harry thought slowly, looking around the gloom. _Looks like they've been gone a long while._

He shuffled around the other sheets of parchment, hoping to get a clearer idea on where Voldemort was. All he had managed to milk from the Death Eater was that he was somewhere north of Tokyo, at a place called _Maigo Nano Hi_. From there, Harry concluded that Voldemort was going to do something with the four known elements. Voldemort's last card to rule the world, and Japan was the first step.

There was a sudden crash and stumbling sound behind Harry. He gripped his wand and twirled around so fast he felt dizzy, ready to face-off another Death Eater. But there was no more movement. Tentatively, Harry inched forward toward where he had heard the disturbance.

"By order of the British Ministry of Magic and regulations of the International Confederation of Wizards, I demand you reveal yourself!" Harry forced his voice to come out steady and calm. His wand arm was shaking, and he swallowed hard to focus on calming himself.

"B-but… I am a…" a pained voice drifted up from the shadows.

Harry snapped to attention and kicked aside some strewn boxes that were muffling his sight. One of the service doors to the warehouse had been knocked open, light pouring in from the outside. He looked down and saw someone lying facedown on the dirty floor, hardly breathing.

"I'm a… but I'm…" the figure continued to moan. 

After sweeping over a look on the man with his wand, Harry concluded that he was not a Death Eater. In fact, looking closer incredulously, he saw that this man was wearing Royal Aurors Society apprentice issued robes! Quickly, Harry got on his knees and turned the man over… and gasped.

"Richard Noin!"

Noin painfully opened his eyes and peered closely up at Harry. A weak smile managed to crack through the dirt and blood on his face.

"Harry!" he croaked. "Is that really you?"

"Noin, what are you doing here? Where is everyone?" Harry tried to get him to sit up, but a loud gasp of pain stopped him. Instead, he laid Noin down in a more comfortable position and held his head up.

"I got on the team," Noin issued a small laugh. "Assigned to the International Confederation of Wizards. Secret project… China Tea. We were here to take out You-Know-Who's forces by surprise… while you worked on finding the dark lord himself. But… but, you didn't contact anyone after they said you left home. The team was forced to move on…"

"I've got to get you help." Harry looked up, trying hard to think on how he would find a healer. Noin coughed suddenly, spitting up blood painfully all over himself. Harry grimaced, and forced himself to avoid becoming sick at the sight.

"Everyone… left… including Weasley…" Noin sputtered.

Harry did a double take.

"Weasley? Ron Weasley?"

"He was the only one left… got worried about you… he left earlier, before the attack…" Noin's eyes were becoming unfocused and dilated.

"Stay with me Noin, c'mon!" Harry shook him gently. "Where did Ron go?"

"A place… a place called…" Noin coughed again.

"_Where_?!" Harry pleaded.

"_Maigo Nano Hi_." Noin gasped, and his eyes closed.

"Noin? Noin! Where is it? Where is _Maigo Nano Hi_? Noin!" Harry shook him again, but there was no answer. Noin's chest no longer rose and fell.

Harry's heart stilled. He looked down at Noin's pale and bloodied face in utter disbelief. How could things have gotten so bad so quickly? This man with whom he had trained with was gone, right before his eyes. Noin had been hit hard with numerous spells that Harry was too distracted to recognize. An unknown number of members from this apparent rescue operation were gone, either missing or dead. Ron was out there… headed straight for Voldemort, most likely thinking Harry was there as well. This brought him to terms, laying Noin's head gently down as he got up.

"You did good, Noin. You did good." Harry whispered, taking his wand to use a spell that would keep Noin's body safe until it could be returned home. He hid it in the cleanest part of the warehouse, memorizing its location so he could tell someone as soon as possible, and transformed to his black panther form. There he waited until dawn.

There were still explosions in the distance as sunlight hit Harry's closed eyelids. He stretched and yawned, showing all his sharp feline teeth with a loud purr. Quickly remembering the events of the previous night, Harry checked around to make sure he was still alone and transformed back to human. He then grabbed all the parchment he could find revealing that the Confederation had been there, and burned it all in a trash bin. The fire and smoke would not stand out in the daylight.

Ignoring his growing hunger, Harry double-checked the warehouse, then changed back into a black panther. He carefully left the building, making sure not to be noticed, and set out into the city. By that time, in the morning light, the streets were deserted of people. Fires were still burning on fumes, water mains poured out water in a relentless flood, storefronts were in ruins, and homes were ransacked. Occasionally, a stray person would stumble onto the street from nowhere, forcing Harry to leap behind a dumpster or pile of debris. There he would hide until the coast was again clear, then continue on what he hoped was the path north.

It was nearly mid-day, and close to the edge of the city, by the time Harry saw any other signs of life. The Death Eaters apparently emptied the city of its millions of citizens. How and where, Harry was too exhausted to contemplate. But as he continued to pad along the dirtied sidewalk, a sudden shout shook the fur on his back to stand upright in full attention.

"Why aren't you at the cliff?!" Came a cold voice from somewhere off.

"Please! Please, do not hurt me!" Pleaded a young man. He sounded only a few years younger than Harry.

"Everyone is to be at the cliff! Or have you chickened out? You know what happens to those who refuse!" The cold voice sneered. Harry strained to see above a turned over mailbox that he had leapt behind. A Death Eater was standing over a younger one, both dressed in the traditional black cloak. Only the young man was cowering on the street, crying and pleading for his life.

"No… no, please! I c-can't!" the young man sobbed.

"You worthless sniveling pig! You vowed your loyalty! There's no backing out. You either go up to _Maigo Nano Hi_ or loose your life. It's your choice." The older one sneered.

Harry's rounded ears perked up at the mention of the name.

"Okay… okay, I'll do as you say. Just please, p-please don't h-hurt me!" The young man stumbled to his feet, only to be kicked down again by the older one as he laughed mirthlessly. Harry fought down his ever-growing anger and hatred as he watched the two walk on down the street, out toward the city limits. He was going the right way, and he need only to follow these Death Eaters the rest of the way.

Letting out a soft, triumphant purr, Harry stealthily followed the pair through the rest of the city. They didn't stop at the city's border, and he carefully sprinted off to follow from amongst the trees lining the road going off toward the coast. The older Death Eater continued the taunt the younger, reminding him continuously of his bondage to the dark lord. Harry managed to hear snippets of Voldemort's plan as they walked along.

"Do you know how long our master has been looking for those retched elements? He's gained so many new followers for the job that you're lucky if he knows your name personally. Who would've thought the key to those elements would be here, so far from our homeland. But you wouldn't know, eh? You're a Jap!" He laughed, slapping the young man on the shoulders as he whimpered.

"Everything's going according to plan. That _Potter_ doesn't have a chance to screw things up this time. It's _flawless_! Even with the scare that the elements were lost… that Potter was out again… our master still managed to set up the spell." He continued. Harry strained to hear more.

"B-but… I heard…" the young man dared to utter.

"Heard _what_?!" the older man snapped, slapping the youngster across the back of his head. "That Potter is still out there? He doesn't have a chance! There's no way he can get through the whole group of us that'll surround the master as he puts the final points to the spell in place! When the day is through, the whole world will be under his power, and dark shall reign over the light!"

The younger man whimpered and nodded dejectedly as they kept walking at a brisk pace. Harry had to catch himself as he let out an instinctive growl, before he was noticed.

"Anyway, don't worry… we haven't missed the main event. That doesn't happen until nightfall, when the spell is complete and the elements are in place." The older Death Eater carried on.

_Nightfall_. Harry thought to himself as he followed quietly from the shadows. _Should be easy to sneak among them then… but what am I going to do from there? How can I possibly stop both Voldemort _and_ his minions at the same time? Going in as a panther won't do much more than surprise… and going in as me is pretty stupid. If only I can mingle and sabotage from the inside?_

The younger Death Eater mumbled something incoherently, and the older one slapped him again. Harry jumped slightly as the young man let out a painful shout.

"You are _such_ a weakling!" the older man crowed. "Of course there is no turning back after the spell has been cast. Our master is going to rule the world! We will be his servants… attending to his commands for the new order. What's that word you Japs say for idiots? Baka? Consider yourself one!"

An idea suddenly hit Harry; it distracted him so completely that he walked smack into a large tree. To his horror, the loud thump that followed drifted to the pair of Death Eaters.

"What was that?" The older Death Eater snapped suspiciously.

_Now or never…_ Harry concluded. He shook himself back to his senses and leapt. Straight at the Death Eaters.

"What the…?! Ahhhhh!"

The whole of Harry's heavy feline bulk landed flat on the older Death Eater. Harry growled and snarled, clawing away at the flailing man. The younger one stood off to the side, staring in pure shock. He made no move to help, and for that Harry was grateful.

As Harry continued to claw away, he managed to knock the Death Eater's wand from his cloak pocket onto the road. The Death Eater screamed in rage, and tried to move to retrieve it… but Harry continued to hinder him. By the time he managed to get the man down flat on the road, the man's face was all scratched and bloody from Harry's razor-sharp claws. Harry jumped on the man's back, and before he could reach his fallen wand, Harry knocked him out cold with one swipe of his large paw. The oldest Death Eater went completely limp.

Panting, Harry staggered off the unconscious body. The younger Death Eater backed away fearfully, obviously scared that Harry would attack him next. Harry merely looked up at him with his large and human emerald green eyes. Then, after a deliberating thought of his plan, he transformed in front of him.

"Ahhh!" the young Death Eater screamed. He crouched on the road and covered his head.

"I'm not going to hurt you. Get up." Harry said in a clear voice.

Slowly and uncertainly, the young Death Eater stood up, looking at Harry nervously.

"Y-you… you…" he stuttered.

"Yes, I'm Harry Potter. And you are?" Harry pocketed his wand and crossed his arms.

The young man looked shocked. His mouth opened and closed like a fish, his eyes wide, before he answered a moment later.

"Li." It was all he managed to utter.

"Well, Li… I take it you don't want to be a Death Eater, correct?" Harry took his chances on his plan. Li nodded. "Then, Li… there's only one way out."

"What?" Li whispered.

"Voldemort and his followers must be stopped before the spell can be cast and the elements used. I will need help… can you help me, Li?" Harry asked in his most determined and encouraging voice.

"If I go free… yes." Li nodded.

"Good. Now listen closely…"

Ten minutes later, Harry was dressed in the older Death Eater's black cloak and walking with Li toward _Maigo Nano Hi._ Li, from what Harry could see from under the cloak's hood, was obviously trying hard to hide his relief. However, Harry couldn't share in the feeling. He walked behind Li with his head down, yet with a stance of power to further conceal himself as a Death Eater. The whole time, as the sun continued it's journey across the sky, Harry went through his plan over and over in his head.

It was a longer walk than he expected, but by the time the sun had begun to set, Harry could begin to feel the dark malice of the dart arts in the air. A sign on the side of the road up ahead read "_Maigo Nano Hi_", and the first sign of other Death Eaters began to appear. Harry walked closer to Li.

"What does _Maigo Nano Hi _mean, anyway?" he whispered curiously.

"Lost Fire." Li answered shortly, becoming anxious at the sight of other Death Eaters.

"Why is this place called that?" Harry looked around, trying hard to keep his face hidden. While Li was thinking, Harry realized he was still wearing his glasses. After uttering a special charm he learned from Sirius, his glasses became transparent.

"This cliff used to be a volcano, before it fell into the ocean many centuries ago. Ancestors say that the smoke from it's drowned fires filled the sky for many, many days." Li explained, wincing a bit as one particularly tall Death Eater glared at them as they passed.

"What significance does this place-" Harry began to ask, before a burly looking Death Eater stepped in their path.

"Where have you been?" he snapped, glaring at them both.

"This young piece of trash was creating a hold up," Harry grunted, trying hard to mimic the attitude of the man he had knocked out. "I had to knock some sense into him."

The Death Eater squinted his eyes suspiciously at them, and pushed Li's shoulder enigmatically.

"Scrawny little runt, ain't he, 'eh?" The Death Eater suddenly bellowed a laugh. "Oh well. Malfoy's been ordering everyone to the front. He's gonna start soon. Consider yourselves lucky."

Harry coughed up a rough laugh and nodded, grabbing Li's shoulder and pushed past the man. _I wonder how Malfoy feels about loosing me… wonder if his "master" knows at all, yet._ Harry thought grudgingly.

"What are you going to do?" Li whispered nervously as they walked through an even larger group of Death Eaters, toward the cliff face.

"Blend in until the time is right." Harry said through his teeth. Li's eyes were constantly wide open at that point, and merely nodded in response.

Harry felt his own nervousness well up inside of him, almost counteracting the anger and utter disgust. He had never been among so many Death Eaters before, even with Sirius. Nearly half of all the ones around him were Japanese, obviously most of them recently recruited. The others were either British or Australian, but he heard some French and American accents as well.

Several times, Harry had to tighten the cloak around his face and double check that his glasses were still transparent. He ducked from curious and mildly suspicious glances as he led Li further up the cliff, hoping to catch a glimpse of Malfoy or Voldemort. It really wasn't necessary to look, however, for Harry's scar was beginning to burn and blur his senses. He hissed with pain through clenched teeth, making Li raise his eyebrows.

"Act casual!" Harry barked suddenly, noticing that Li was looking at him vaguely. Li jumped and averted his gaze straight ahead, his breathing slow and deep.

At last, just when Harry thought that the sheer number of Death Eaters would surely notice his true identity, they reached the cliff's summit. Here, the Death Eaters were standing in a circle, eerily reminding Harry of his first duel with Voldemort in his fourth year at Hogwarts. Only, instead of surrounding him, the Death Eaters were surrounding what looked like one of the arches from Stonehenge. A marble slab table was set up in front of it, on which four stone pillars were arranged. Everyone was whispering in hushed tones, the loudest sound being thunder from a storm that was blowing in from the ocean. The sun had nearly gone down, and giant fire-lit torches were lit around the cliff. It cast an uneasy ominous glow to the atmosphere. 

There was a sudden wave of voices and parting of places in the circle, and the pain in Harry's scar became intense. Harry fought down the urge to grab his forehead in pain, as he watched the very epitome of evil walk regally to the marble table in front of the arch. Silence swept the cliff in every direction as those red snake-like eyes searched among his followers. Harry felt Li shudder as they fell on their spot, and to Harry's relief, move past. Yet, there was some instinct inside of him that said that he _knew_ Harry was there.

"My most loyal subjects," Voldemort mused with a wide, lip-less grin. "The fruit of our labors will finally come to bloom this evening."

Nods and quiet words of agreement uttered from the crowd of black cloaked people. Harry heard Li stifle a sob.

"The last points to the spell which will enable me to move past this dimension, and into the space between time and matter, will be complete!" Voldemort raised his skinny, bony arms high. "And once the portal has opened, I shall go into that space, and I shall wreck havoc with the balancing good!"

_What does _that_ mean?_ Harry thought quickly, trying hard to ignore the searing pain in his scar as the crowd murmured approval again.

"So," Voldemort ginned casually, lowering his arms. "Let's not dawdle, we haven't… _I_ haven't… come this far to delay the ultimate conquest!"

Harry gripped his wand so tight his knuckles lost color. If he could just create a distraction… he'd be able to do what no one else could.

The Death Eaters around him, including a reluctant Li, raised their wands in union. In one voice, they chanted:

"_Enspelreana!_"

Instantly, green light flowed from each raised wand and met in an arch above Voldemort and the arch. The spell drifted down from the center and poured into the four pillars. The four known elements.

"_Earth, fire, wind, and water… I call upon your lawful power!_" Voldemort commanded, pointing his own wand at the table. The four pillars began to give off a red glow. 

"_Release your natural right!_" The Death Eaters chanted as one voice.

The red light coming from each pillar grew so intense that one could no longer make out the four distinct sources. It glowed as one blood-red orb.

"Now! Bring in the last element!" Voldemort shouted.

_Last element?!_ Harry looked around wildly. _What last element?_

Another break in the circle opened, and four Death Eaters could be seen dragging something to the front of the marble table. Voldemort wore his inhuman malicious smile as the four Death Eaters dropped their burden. When they stepped away, Harry felt his heart stop and his stomach plummet to the ground.

Ron was bound, hand in foot, on the dirt in front of the arch.

"_The very channel of the four known elements! The result of their power! The fifth element! Life!_" Voldemort bellowed, raising his wand high in the air.

Ron was gagged, and even in the gloom, Harry could see his helpless tears. It was too much to bear.

"_With your power, I command the portal to the ultimate source be opened!_" Voldemort lowered his wand slowly, and directly at Ron. Ron closed his eyes, waiting his fate.

"NOOOO!" Harry bellowed, whipping off the cloak and stepping out from the circle. Li grabbed at him, but was too afraid to keep him back. Harry was much too strong.

Voldemort, much to Harry's disgust, smiled slowly and widely.

"_So_… you decide to show yourself after all, Potter."

Every eye in the circle turned to him, each pair identical to the rest in the sea of black… made even darker by the storm that was brewing a nasty wind. Harry looked briefly at them all, feeling his heart beginning to pound out of his chest and his scar burn like fire. Ron looked up at him in surprise and pleading.

"This won't work, Voldemort." Harry said dumbly, hearing his voice crack. Sweat broke out all over his body, as he felt his plan drain out of him hopelessly.

"Oh?" Voldemort chuckled, the sound hitting Harry's ears like shards of ice. "I'm sorry to tell you, but I'm afraid that not even _you_ can stop me now!"

Harry fought every nerve fiber in his muscles not to tremble, reaching down into his lessons from the Society… reacting as if this were any other confrontation with the dark arts.

"By order of the British Ministry of Magic and regulations of the International Confederation of Wizards, I place you under arrest!" Harry shouted, leveling his wand at Voldemort. The laughter that followed hit him like a brick.

"You're just a wee bit out of your league, here, little Harry." Voldemort was nearly doubled over. "Why, not even your father was this naïve!"

Harry didn't even realize he had shouted out a curse before it was over. The entire circle of Death Eaters was hit by a hex, spread out like a domino effect. Caught completely off-guard, there was no time to ward it off. Each black cloaked person went up into flames, creating an inextricable uproar. Harry kept his gaze on Voldemort… the laughter gone from his serpent-like face.

"Well, you've grown up, Potter." His eyes narrowed and his mouth level. "But you still cannot defeat me!"

In a duel, Voldemort was correct. Because their wands were brothers, it was impossible for Harry to duel with him or else their wands would create a dangerous effect. For all those years, Harry wondered how he would defeat him… but he never came up with an answer. 

Voldemort took that moment of Harry's momentary distraction and lifted his wand again… before Harry could act.

"_By the powers combined, I command the portal be opened!_"

Ron's face went wide with terror. Green light was headed straight toward his back. Harry screamed.

"Ron!"

Harry leapt on top of him and rolled away, just as the spell was about to hit. Instead, it flew above their heads and straight at the disarrayed circle of Death Eaters. In a blinding flash, it hit someone.

What happened next happened so quickly that Harry had a hard time recalling. The red orb of light surrounding the four elements on the table expanded and a ray of its light shot out toward the person the spell had hit. The person screamed, and the light refracted back toward the arch. Voldemort leapt to the side just as the light hit the space under the arch. In one large flash, a shimmering luminescence exploded in the arch, creating an after shock of power that nearly knocked those still standing to the ground. In that moment, it began to pour as the storm settled over the cliff.

Harry looked up to see Voldemort run into the opened portal.

"No!" he screamed, jumping to his feet. Ron somehow managed to remove his bonds and leapt up after him.

"Harry! No, don't!" he shouted after him. Ron began to follow and stop him, before he saw a wand rise out of the corner of his eye. "HARRY!"

Harry was just about at the portal when he saw Malfoy raise his wand, a wild and exuberant smile on his face. He turned to face him, when Malfoy shouted "Avada Kedavra!"

Ron leapt on top of Harry, knocking him to the side. All Harry saw was the blinding green light, Ron's petrified face, and a white explosion from the portal. He fell against the table, rolled under, and hit a large boulder back first. Pain shot up his spine and he yelled in agony. But, where was Ron?

_The portal! Oh no!_ Harry thought wildly in his head. Despite the pain, he crawled to his feet and looked up… only to see Malfoy standing over him.

"I've wanted to do this for sooo long!" he crowed, wand directly in Harry's face. "Goodbye, Potter!"

"Avada Kedavra!"

Malfoy's face went blank, and he suddenly fell backwards. Harry looked up incredulously at Li, who was standing about a yard away… his wand shaking in his hands. Harry had no idea Li was that powerful.

"G-go g-get that j-jerk! Senshi Potter, ojison!" Li grinned shakily at him.

With a small, wary smile, Harry got up painfully to his feet. He paused and nodded at Li, and looked into the portal's swirling mass. Then, without looking back, Harry stepped inside.

****

Author's Note: What did you think? Cool cliffhanger, 'eh? What's gonna happen beyond that portal? Is Ron okay? How exactly is Voldemort planning to take over the world with this thing? Think these are good questions? Cool, 'cause I do too… since I'm wondering what the answers are myself! ::grins sheepishly:: Aww, don't worry, I'll figure it out… don't I always?

****

Thank Yous: Normally the thank yous would go right here… but… you'll just have to trust me that I have received ALL your reviews and emails, and I thank EACH and EVERY one of you! You'll have to look for the personal acknowledgments in the future chapters- for I am unable to do so this time again. _Please_ keep reviewing though! Big hugs and a cookie if you do!

****

Visit Orca on the Web: You can check up on me daily at my website, [http://www.theworldofreneepotter.disneyfansites.com][1] and see how the latest chapter is doing, photos and new fan art, plus other novels at your local store to read! AND, be sure to use the link on the main page to vote for my site at the Web Brawls! If I get enough votes daily, my site will win a prize and I shall love you even more!

__

"Does the walker choose the path, or the path choose the walker?" ~from _The Book of the Dead_ (Lirael by Garth Nix)

~OrcaPotter

[OrcaMorph@aol.com][2]

   [1]: http://www.theworldofreneepotter.disneyfansites.com/
   [2]: mailto:OrcaMorph@aol.com



	8. Pursuit

Chapter Seven ****

Author's Note: This chapter totally took me by surprise… it just… happened. Most likely the most unique chapter of the story, my beta readers inform me it's much like the chapter in which Jeff the Jefforagon from Battle of Destiny appears. I agree… the normal laws do not apply in this chapter. I've concluded that there will be 3 more chapters, so the story is reaching its climax. I hope you enjoy it, be sure to review!

**__**

Special Thanks: To my dedicated beta readers, RavenNat & 007

****

Chapter Seven

Pursuit 

The first thing that happened when Harry passed through the arch was a gust of sudden wind. It caught him by such surprise that Harry yelled and threw up his arms to shield his face. Almost immediately, he regretted doing so. His hands hit his face with the force of the wind, and in his struggle against it, he felt the familiar weight of his glasses disappear. In horror, Harry fell to his knees on the ground and searched around for them. Not only was the wind still blowing relentlessly, but Harry's poor sight and the dawning fact that his glasses were still invisible made finding them a remote possibility.

Harry groaned, feeling around frantically. His eyesight was completely fuzzy, and it made him feel dizzy. Yet, there was nothing _to_ see. All he saw was a white blur that refused to become clear. Harry wasn't even sure what it was he was kneeling on as he continued to blindly feel around for his glasses.

Meanwhile, the wind was gradually lessening, and the roaring sound it caused in his ears began to subside.

"Oh, man!" Harry yelled in frustration. He balled up his fists and slammed them on the ground, only to hear a loud crack.

Harry lifted his left hand to see a blurry outline, dotted with flecks of red that was his own blood. Holding his breath, both in disbelief and in pain, he took his wand in his right hand and undid the spell that he had put upon his glasses. Sure enough, Harry could just make out the shards of glass embedded in his hand… and the thick black frame in a crumbled heap on the ground.

"Sh…" he hissed, his voice dying quickly in wherever he was. Angry at himself, and furious with everyone else, Harry stood up and cradled his injured hand. Squinting carefully around him, he tried to make out where Voldemort had gone… and where Ron was, too. Yet he still could only see a fuzzy white blur, and a silence that was so absolute, it made his head ache.

The wind and the roar that it had caused were gone, Harry figuring that he had moved away from where he had entered this realm. What was it that Voldemort had said? The space between time and matter. Is this what that was?

_The only thing to do is to just walk. Perhaps I can find Ron and Voldemort on the way foreword._ Harry thought to himself, still holding his left hand carefully.

Shuffling at an uncertain pace, Harry moved ahead in the white void. The only sound was his painful panting breath, caused by both his cut left hand and bruised back. His eyes persisted to try and focus, but even with his poor vision, he couldn't find anything to look at. The only way to keep the bile down in his stomach from his dizzying eyes was to close them; there was nothing to look out for, anyway.

After what seemed like hours, the pain in Harry's back increasing, something other than the sound of his breath hit his ears. At first, it was so faint that Harry stopped and held his breath to hear it better. Then, still moving forward, new sounds flew to Harry's starved ears.

"…who…?"

"Stop… said…!"

"Insolent fool! You… from!"

Harry broke into a run. Those voices undoubtedly belonged to Voldemort and Ron. The voices became clearer as he ran faster, filling his ears after the long, cold silence. Each syllable shot through to his brain, and the intensity of them raised Harry's fear. Why was Ron being foolish enough to face Voldemort alone? Surely he knew that only Harry was able to do such a thing. His blood ran hot in his veins as he recalled the many times Ron had confided in him how much he longed for his own chance at the spotlight. His own chance of glory and fame; it was something Ron had dreamed about his whole life. Silently, Harry cursed Ron's stubbornness.

"By order of the British Ministry…"

"You truly are daft…"

The voices became louder and clearer, and while it made him sick to do so with his blurred vision, Harry ran faster. There was no way to tell, aside from the increasing volume of the shouting voices, how far he went before he could hear the words completely and clearly.

"You are making a deadly mistake, boy." Sneered Voldemort, unmistakably.

"What makes you so sure?" Came Ron's cocky voice.

Voldemort laughed.

"I have killed countless others ten times more powerful than _you_. What makes you think you can stop me?"

Harry strained to move as fast as he could, his back screaming in objection. Still, he couldn't find the fuzzy shapes that would be Voldemort and Ron, yet he could still hear them as if they were right next to him.

"Sheer prowess." Ron said huskily. Harry could tell from his inflection that Ron was scared stupid.

"I grow tired of you," Voldemort said irritably. "I have things to do. Avada-"

"NOO!" Harry screamed, Voldemort's voice practically at his ear. Still, he could make out nothing with his eyes. They sounded as if Harry was right on top of them, but where were they?

"-Kedavra!"

As Harry felt hot, angry, and horrified tears flow down his cheeks, he heard Ron's yell and Voldemort's triumphant cackle. They sounded as if they surrounded him, and yet Harry saw nothing. No vague or fuzzy outlines of people were anywhere… just the whiteness that had long made Harry feel sick. Then, the roaring voices and yells seemed to blur together, and simply stopped.

"Ron?" Harry called out hoarsely. The deafening silence suddenly returned. "Ron!"

The ground suddenly disappeared from under his feet, and for a gut-retching instant, Harry stood still on absolutely nothing.

"Oh…" he began to say, just before he fell.

Harry couldn't remember ever hitting solid ground. One instant, he had been surrounded by an unending white void, the next he was a crumpled heap on a grassy mound. Carefully, Harry opened one eye and gasped. The pain that had before tortured just his back had now spread all over his body. However he had landed from his fall, landing on his back didn't help matters. Harry angrily and painfully balled his fists.

"Why is it that I'm so prone to injury, 'eh?!" he shouted out, hearing his anguished voice die almost instantly in the still air. It proved to be a bad idea, for his sharp intake of breath stabbed his lungs, badly enough that tears threatened to break from Harry's eyes once more.

_Ron's dead, Voldemort is running loose taking over the world, and I'm just laying here like a beaten mosquito. Some hero I turned out to be._ Harry thought bitterly, closing his useless eyes. He was so caught up with himself, he didn't bother to get any idea as to where he was. As far as he could tell, he was helplessly collapsed on some hill where the humidity was so thick you could cut it with a knife. 

Just as Harry lost all hope, a faint rumbling sound began to float to his ears. Despite the pain, Harry held his breath to hear better. It was getting closer… something light and nimble landed on his chest… Harry opened his eyes, only to face-

"Oh, dear… what do we have here _now_?" A cat.

Harry blinked.

"A talking cat." He mumbled stupidly.

"Well, what else would I be? Stuffed?" the cat said indignantly.

"Er…" Harry was beginning to conclude that his injuries finally had spread to his mind.

"Moggit! I say, Moggit! What the blazes…? Oh dear, not another." Came another disturbingly feline voice.

"Yes, I'm afraid so, Encarta." Said the cat that was on top of Harry, apparently named Moggit.

Harry felt dizzy as the second cat, Encarta, leapt with liquid grace next to Moggit. She peered at him closely, her whiskers tickling his nose.

"What do you propose we do? The other ones got away… this one obviously is severely injured." Encarta sniffed, loosing interest to lick her paws. Harry groaned. 

"Yes, so he appears." Moggit said slowly, still on all fours. "Well, we can't let him go… otherwise we'd be in even more of a fix. Might as well heal him up before we do anything else."

"Fine by me. Let's hurry… I don't want to miss dinner." Encarta jumped off of Harry and out of sight. Moggit took one last glance at Harry, who stared dubiously back, and leapt off himself.

_Well, that was certainly interesting._ Harry thought dazedly. _Talking cats. Who knew?_

"Tell me again why I have this job?" Harry heard Moggit say idly, himself beginning to feel sleepy.

"Because _I_ took it, furball." Encarta purred from far away.

"That is not the reason!"

"Well, it certainly wasn't for the money…"

"… for?"

"…sleeps."

When Harry opened his eyes after what seemed like days, he felt considerably better. He was stretched out upon something soft, surrounded by warm and fuzzy things. Slowly, he opened his eyes, softly groaning as he realized he still couldn't see worth of anything. His glasses were long since destroyed.

"It's about time you woke up, although I must say you're quite comfortable to curl up on."

"AH!" Harry yelped, hearing the warm fuzzy thing next to his face speak.

"Feeling better?" Came another voice from his other side.

"AH!" Harry yelped again, struggling to sit up.

"I'd say so."

Slowly, Harry began to remember the impossible memory of two talking cats named Moggit and Encarta. He had blamed it on delusion stemmed from his injuries, but he felt fine now. Could he have suffered permanent mental damage?

A white, fuzzy blur settled over Harry's eyes. He feebly tried to move his hands and arms to wave it off, but he was too weak.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say this man's eyes are inappropriately focused." Moggit, Harry remembered, said.

"Astigmatism, I believe, and a severe case of it too." Encarta lazily peered over his face.

"My glasses broke." Harry pointed out dumbly.

"Then you need new ones." Moggit said, moving out of view.

"No kidding, genius." Encarta yawned.

Harry felt Moggit move past him and return shortly after. Something was slid onto Harry's face and his vision instantly corrected itself. He could see clearly!

"That's better, isn't it Harry?" Moggit asked proudly. Harry looked at him incredulously. Moggit was a pure white, short haired cat- just like any other, besides the fact he could talk.

"How'd you know…?" Harry began to ask.

"Your wallet." Encarta said simply. She was the opposite of Moggit, completely black as night.

"My wallet? Why…? How…?" Harry felt around his robes to find that his wallet was in fact missing.

"To see who you are, of course. And to check for allergies and your blood type." Moggit said.

Harry blinked, trying hard to keep himself from getting dizzy again. This was unreal; even when he found out he was a wizard he didn't think magic was unbelievable… but this…

"Now, Mr. Potter," Encarta stood up and stretched. "If you could inform us on the other two men that came trespassing through here without warrant, it would be a great help."

"Where am I?" Harry asked, too caught up in everything to answer.

"The Crossworlds." Moggit answered. "The interdemensional pathway. It has many names, but only one purpose."

"What's that?" Harry pressed.

"To get from one dimension to another, but not without permission. Those two blokes that came trampling through didn't even stop! They'll face some serious charges once caught." Encarta added.

"Those are the men I'm going after… one of them is extraordinarily dangerous. The other is a colleague of mine, my best friend. If they're not stopped, my friend will be killed and the other will take over the world!" Harry explained.

"Well, he won't have much luck then. To take over a dimension you must have a vial." Encarta began to groom herself casually.

"A what?" Harry looked at the small black cat.

"A vial of atom dust. They're only the most elementary particles that make up a dimension, you know." Moggit said matter-of-factually. 

Harry ran his hands through his hair and sat up warily and moaned.

"Without a vial of atom dust, you cannot bend the dimension's rules to your will. Atom dust is highly dangerous and rare to obtain. Besides, even finding the door to the correct dimension is close to impossible without one of us as guides." Encarta cleaned her whiskers.

"Would Voldemort have a vial of atom dust?" Harry asked more to himself.

"Not likely, unless he's come this way before, and we haven't seen a human from Dimension 99Alpha for two millennia. Plus, we haven't gotten any word from 99Alpha's correspondent regarding any travelers. Trespassing in the Crossworlds is a felony and will be prosecuted. Now that you're well, you will have to be processed." Moggit suddenly got up.

"Processed? How do you mean?" Harry asked nervously.

The cats didn't answer. Harry finally looked around him to see exactly where he was as Moggit and Encarta left him. He was in an office, not unlike one would find at a police station. Desks and papers littered the small space; he himself was sitting upon a cot in a corner. As he swung his legs around to stand up, Harry had a hard time imagining a cat using a desk for paperwork.

"Who exactly are you guys, anyway?" Harry called out to them. The cats had gone into another office adjoining the one he was in. Moggit suddenly appeared, now sporting a crystal studded collar.

"We are the guardians of the Crossworlds, chosen spirits of the original infinitesimal elemental particles. I am Moggit Senior, and the annoying black ball of fur behind me is Encarta Senior." Moggit suddenly leapt onto Harry's shoulder, took one outstretched claw, ripped through Harry's robe & shirtsleeve, and placed his paw on Harry's upper left arm. Harry cried out as Moggit's paw seemed to burn right through his skin.

"Ow!" Harry cried angrily. "What are you doing?"

"The mark will only go away until you've been cleared. Until we get notification from 99Alpha's main office you'll have to remain in custody." Moggit said, removing his paw.

Encarta walked out with a pen tucked over her ear, also wearing a crystal studded collar.

"Do you prefer your middle name initialed or spelled out completely? It doesn't matter to me." She said, sitting down and with one paw took up the pen to begin writing on a form spread out on a desk.

"Okay, this has been most enlightening but I really must get going." Harry shrugged Moggit off of him and stood up.

"I'm sorry, but you can't go anywhere until you've been cleared." Moggit stepped out in front of him. Harry sighed and tried to step around him, but for some reason he couldn't move around the cat. 

"I can't stay here… if I don't catch those men, my entire dimension is doomed." Harry gritted his teeth, becoming more annoyed by his feline captors.

"You can't catch them. There are over 7,900,657,329,001 dimensions, sub-dimensions, and quadrants. The way to each of them is accessible here in the Crossworlds, and only _we_ know where each entrance is. Every twenty-five minutes, the entrances move, preventing _unauthorized_ persons from easy access. Now do you think you can catch them?" Encarta snapped. 

"I'm an auror. It's my job, and my duty as a citizen of my dimension. You can't underestimate Voldemort. Now, step aside." Harry drew out his wand.

Moggit and Encarta exchanged looks and began to laugh. Harry snorted angrily.

"What's so funny?"

"Your _magic_ cannot work here. The Crossworlds is a neutral zone… any power from any dimension is immediately canceled out, rendering anything other than natural laws useless. So, even if your men are dangerous, they are not as dangerous as they'd normally be." Moggit explained with a disturbingly human-like smile.

They were telling the truth, for Harry was feeling strangely empty… as if a part of his soul was missing. The normal buzz of power he seemed to feel from his wand was not there. He sighed, hesitating as he lowered his wand and stepped back. The cats looked satisfied.

"Don't worry about it, we've got these men." Moggit said, just as his and Encarta's collars began to glow with a radiant light.

"It's Evyn, in District 789Sub B." Encarta said suddenly, her fur upright and bristling.

"He sounds like there's something wrong." Moggit said uncertainly, both cats loosing attention to Harry.

At once, Harry watched the two cats leap onto desks and start pawing through paperwork at an astonishing speed. It was like watching some very odd dream to Harry, for these cats obviously possessed special powers- and yet they hold an office with paperwork scattered messily about everywhere.

"I… I don't understand, Moggit." Encarta was taken aback. "I've lost contact."

"So have I," Moggit sighed. "But he sounded seriously disturbed by something."

"Get much trouble around here?" Harry asked crankily.

Moggit narrowed his eyes and Encarta pretended to look busy with some paper.

"No." Moggit said shortly.

"None at all, actually."

"Never."

"We've always been so careful. I… I'm not even sure how to handle it." Encarta's ears drooped.

Harry tried his best to keep a slow smile from betraying his nonchalant expression.

"Think perhaps the man I'm after is dangerous after all?" he asked casually.

"Evyn said there were _two_." Moggit pointed out, avoiding the answer.

"Yes, but one is the enemy and the other is not. One is my best friend and the other is my mortal enemy. It is my enemy that throws not only my dimension into danger, but the countless others as well… and even the Crossworlds. He won't stop until _I_ stop him." Harry approached them, wand readied again even though it was useless.

"Then what do you propose we do?" Moggit answered haughtily.

"_You_ are going to show me where 99Alpha is. Where my dimension is, Voldemort will be too. And Ron." Harry pointed a finger at them.

"Evyn is not responding to hails." Encarta announced.

Harry looked at her a moment and cocked his head.

"Perhaps because Evyn is no longer around to be hailed."

Finding the right dimension was a lot easier said than done. Now that Harry could see clearly, the Crossworlds proved to be nothing but a vast clay colored plain. Every now and then, Harry and the two Senior cats would pass a shimmering piece of air. Moggit explained that they were the doors to each different dimension. By an unexplained talent, Moggit and Encarta could tell where each individual door was located at the present moment. The collars helped channel their special gift, and enabled them many other abilities like mind-to-mind communication between guardians (the cats of the Crossworlds).

As the time wore on, Harry began to grow tired. There seemed to be no visible sun that could tell the time of day, nor did there seem to be any change in the scenery. The constant flatness of the Crossworlds seemed to stretch on forever.

"I haven't done this much walking since the dawn of time." Encarta complained with a feline yowl.

Harry had a sick feeling that she wasn't exaggerating.

"We're coming up on the agent for this sector. Perhaps she'll know something." Moggit said, not sounding the least bit out of breath.

"Good, I need to stop and clean the dirt from my whiskers." Encarta sighed. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Sakura!" Moggit called out.

"Yes, Senior?" A Siamese cat suddenly appeared out of nowhere, making Harry leap nearly a foot off the ground. The cat, Sakura, looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Another one?" 

"Have you seen the others?" Encarta asked quickly.

Sakura closed her eyes as she began to clean her paws, obviously deep in thought.

"Yes, I have. One of them is severely injured." She said after a moment.

"Ron!" Harry cried out, worried more than ever. "Which way did they go?" 

"Toward District 789Sub A. I stayed out of their way, for I wasn't sure that they were clear for access or not." Sakura answered.

Encarta made an exasperated sound and Moggit rolled his eyes. Harry fidgeted more than ever, anxious to get moving.

"When you aren't sure whether or not a being has access you don't-"

"Cut it, Encarta, we don't have the time for lectures right now." Moggit stopped Encarta before she could lecture Sakura further. The Siamese cat looked entirely sheepish.

"I'm sorry, Seniors." She apologized quickly.

"Which way?!" Harry snapped, fighting his urge to shake all the cats senseless in his tension.

"K-keep going due east. Agent Zechs heads that District." Sakura stuttered, mewing in surprise. Without a second's though, Harry turned and headed in the direction she pointed. He was so intent on getting to Ron and stopping Voldemort he wasn't aware that Moggit and Encarta were following closely at his heels, loudly protesting his pace.

There was no way to tell where one district ended and another began, the Crossworlds was so monotonous. Harry could only keep his pace so long in the weakened state he was in, and he slowly began to loose his breath. Yet, he ignored his pain and strode on, still ignoring the two cats he was nearly stepping on.

"Stop right there!" Came a deep and commanding voice from out of nowhere. Harry immediately stopped dead, causing Moggit and Encarta to walk right into the back of his legs.

"Really now…!"

"Could have warned us…!"

Harry looked around for the owner of the voice, but couldn't find it. Voldemort and Ron were still nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, Seniors! I wasn't aware… I didn't mean…"

Right from behind Harry was the voice's owner. Another cat, a very large tabby with huge eyes was striding up from behind him. Harry turned to face him, eager to ask what he knew.

"Are you Zechs?" He asked the cat, already used to the fact that he was talking to a feline. But then again, he could talk to snakes…

"Indeed I am, sir. Do you have clearance?" Zechs asked.

"He's with us, Zechs. We're after two other humans that came this way, did you see them?" Moggit cut in.

"Oh, yes sir. One of them is highly dangerous and the other is badly injured. They broke out into a brawl right here, in fact. The injured one had been chasing the other, and they engaged right as I began to stop the latter. I had to separate them, of course, and enforce the law. Apparently from 99Alpha they were, for the dangerous one pulled out a wand, I believe. Of course, it wouldn't work, but for this man's age he is quite physically fit! The two men got locked into a fistfight, with the dangerous one coming out as victor. He ran off before I could blink and the other limped to his feet and gave chase again. I had only time to warn Evyn." Zechs explained.

"We lost contact with Evyn." Encarta said, sitting down.

"Which way did they go?" Harry asked quickly.

"Southeast, past the rift." Zechs answered without hesitation. With a slight nod, Harry ran off again.

"Oh, I wish he'd slow down." Encarta moaned, getting up and running after him.

"Thank you, Zechs. Carry on!" Moggit called back to him as he followed off at a trot.

"Good luck, sir! And do be careful! The dangerous one appeared to have a vial!" Zechs cried.

By now, Harry had an ache in his side and cramps all over, but he didn't let his pain slow him down now that he was so close. Panting, he looked down at the clay-colored ground and saw dark splotches scattered out in a path as he ran by. One particular small puddle made him almost stop.

"Oh, no…" Harry groaned, urging himself to go faster.

"Blood." Moggit whispered darkly, running beside him.

There was no way to tell how long they had been running, but Harry only stopped when he could go no further. Out ahead of him was a large gap in the clay-colored ground.

"Sh-!" Harry hissed, stopping and doubling over.

Moggit and Encarta stopped beside him, both of them now panting.

"About time you stopped, I'm exhausted!" Encarta growled.

"How… do we… get across?" Harry asked, out of breath.

"How?" Moggit looked up at him, puzzled. "What do you mean, how? The same way you always cross a rift!"

"What? You jump? You've got to be kidding me!" Harry looked back at the gaping rift again. He wasn't even sure magic could help if he could use it.

"Jump! Heavens no!" Moggit cried, laughing.

"You _walk_ across, you dimwit! You'd fall right in if you tried to jump." Encarta rolled her eyes.

"Well _excuse_ me for not knowing that you simply _walk_ across a rift. Not too many rifts back home to _walk_ across, you know." Harry rubbed his temples. His attention to his head made Harry realize that his scar was hurting more now that Voldemort was closer. Shaking his head to clear it, although it made him feel dizzier than ever, Harry stepped forward to do as was told to cross the rift. However, as he put out a foot to take his first step on the rift… his common sense kicked in again.

"This is ridiculous! I can't even see the bottom! There's nothing to hold you up to _walk_ across!" he cried.

"Haven't you ever heard of an _illusion_ before?" Moggit asked, coming up beside him. Without a backward glance, the white cat simply walked on as if there wasn't a rift at all. He laughed and looked back at Harry, who was staring with a gaping mouth. "And you call yourself a wizard. _This_ surprises you?"

"Talking cats? Imaginary rifts? Multiple worlds? Oh no, not at all." Harry crossed his arms, blushing.

"If this was your dimension, I would react the same way." Encarta said, passing Harry to join Moggit. "But this isn't your dimension and I say you're a bit dim."

"Dim?" Harry cried indignantly, strutting out to stand over the two cats. "If I were to hand you a, let's say, Muggle computer… you wouldn't know heads or tails of it!"

"PC or Macintosh? We're experienced with both." Moggit said, smiling his cat smile.

"I prefer the PC, actually." Encarta grinned. She looked down at Harry's feet. "And look, genius can walk."

Harry gulped and looked down. Sure enough, he appeared to be standing in midair over the rift. He fought down a surprised squeak, put on his most dignified expression, and marched on. Both cats began to laugh and followed in a mocking fashion.

Quickly, Harry paced himself across, Ron and Voldemort coming back to mind. He wondered if they had figured out the same thing, to walk across the rift. They must have, for they weren't on the other side from which they came. Harry's scar began to throb, and he knew he was close.

Before he realized it, they were across the rift and back on solid ground. Harry broke into a run again, much to the loud discontentment of the two cats. The trail of blood was thicker on this side. Then, up on the horizon, a small from could be seen sprawled out on the ground.

"Evyn!" Encarta gasped, running faster and easily outrunning Harry. Moggit strode beside him, his cat face tight with concern. "Evyn!"

She was standing over a cat that looked like it had just outgrown being a kitten. He was slightly smaller than Encarta, his fur a misty gray, only it was matted with his own blood.

"Mother?" the cat asked in a painful whisper.

"Where are they? Where are the ones that did this to you?" Moggit demanded gently, coming up beside Encarta. Harry looked around, seeing the trail of blood continue past.

"He took the vial…" Evyn coughed. "I tried…"

"Where? Took it where, son?" Moggit pressed.

"99Alpha." He shuddered. Encarta stroked his head with her paw.

Harry broke back into a run and began to follow the trail of blood again. This time, the cats did not follow. For fifteen minutes, there was nothing on the horizon, until at last… he began to hear the shouts.

"Just give up!"

"You wish… I'll fight you until I drop dead!"

"Be my guest, you won't last much longer, anyway!"

Pushing himself to his maximum limit, Harry bolted toward the voices. Shapes appeared on the horizon, like two large black birds circling their prey. With grim determination, Harry charged. The sight he came upon was heart stopping.

Voldemort was locked in a brutal fight with Ron. It didn't look good, for Ron was bleeding freely from open wounds on his arms and sides of his head. They didn't see Harry approach, which allowed him the advantage.

"Ahhh!" Harry jumped at them, throwing them both off by surprise. He managed to punch Voldemort squarely in the head, knocking him back. Ron stumbled and fell backwards, awestruck.

"Harry?!"

"Get out of here, Ron! Go get the cats!" Harry shouted at him, preparing himself to attack Voldemort again. Yet, to his disgust, Voldemort began to laugh as he stood up.

"Potter," he laughed in amusement. "So you finally decided to join us."

Harry leered at him, glancing to see that Ron was getting up. Voldemort noticed, and suddenly flicked his wrist. Immediately, Ron was knocked to the ground and pulled by some force over to Voldemort, where he grabbed him by the collar. Harry's eyes went wide with shock.

"You can't seem to die, Potter, so here's the deal… leave me alone and your friend here lives. Otherwise, he dies and so do you… if I can manage it. It's your choice."

That was when Harry saw the glistening object Voldemort was holding against Ron's neck. It was small, made of glass, seemingly filled with nothing… but that's when he realized.

"So you've noticed my little passport. Yes, complements of that annoying feline I managed to dispose of. I plan to do a little something with it."

Voldemort was holding a vial of Atom Dust.

****

Author's Note: Very different and unexpected, 'eh? Well, I had the house all to myself for nearly 3 days… so I just did what I do by just sitting in front of the screen and typing what immediately pops in my head. Yet, folks, I'm afraid Orca has actually joined the workforce. Yep, I got a job- I'm a Senior Graphic Designer Assistant (otherwise known as a "helper"). That'll be three days a week. College is vastly approaching, classes start in late August. That'll be even _more_ time. Then there's the various other things. Writing time for me will be crunched. Alas, still expect me to complete this, post _The Table of Time_, and finish up _Shadows of Yesterday_ by the end of the summer.

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Explanation: Just to answer Q's that I know you may ask… Voldemort's apparent power at the end of this chapter is explained by something else that'll come up in the next chapter. Magic _still_ is canceled out and useless in the Crossworlds. Each "cat" carries a vial of Atom Dust- it helps with their own unique powers.

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Visit Orca on the Web: I would _love_ for you to help me out by voting for my website each time you visit. I'm part of two internet competitions now, The Web Brawls and Fantasy Fights. While my site does not get counted on FF until July 9th, I'm still in the weekday fights at The Web Brawls. I update my site as often as possible, with news on my latest chapter, as well as new fan art, novels I recommend, and more… be sure to visit and vote! Also take a moment to vote on the Top HP Fanfiction Sites, and see other author's works as well once you do. The link is [http://www.theworldofreneepotter.disneyfansites.com][1] and I have a NEW banner!! If you have a webpage, I'll gladly banner exchange with you & email me if you wish to post my banner

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"Those who are right have to be strong." ~Wufei (Gundam Wing)

~OrcaPotter

[OrcaMorph@aol.com][2]

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	9. Battle

Chapter Eight ****

Author's Note: Don't kill me, but this is ridiculously short. However, I've been told it's the best chapter yet- and you'll certainly be shocked at the end. There's one more "official" chapter after this one, and then the epilogue… so we're up to the climax. So I'll let you get on with this… please take a moment to review at the end! Enjoy!

**__**

Special Thanks: To 007, one of my esteemed beta readers.

****

Chapter Eight

Battle

The vial of Atom Dust glistened in Voldemort's hand. Harry stared, cursing himself for getting into another standoff. Ron again was in the clutches of Voldemort, staring with a defeated expression at Harry. What most confused him was how Voldemort was able to seemingly use magic. From what Moggit and Encarta had told him, magic was cancelled out in the Crossworlds. How was it possible?

"You know, Harry," Voldemort began quietly, looking directly into Harry's confused eyes. "I have come to realize just how powerful you are."

Harry glared at him, saying nothing but looking at him in disgust. Voldemort continued unperturbed, Ron dangling from his cloak collar in his claw-like hand.

"You have more potential than you, or anyone else, realizes… _I_ can help you reach to the fullest."

"I would rather die than serve under _you_." Harry sneered.

Voldemort laughed, tightening his grip on Ron and twirling the vial between his fingers.

"Think about it, Harry! With this insignificant seeming little vial, I will rule the entire dimension. Everyone, even _you,_ won't be able to stop me! There are billions of other dimensions to take over after I'm through, so why not join the winning side?"

"Because my parents and everyone else that you have senselessly killed would have died in vain… and because I am a human being." Harry said through clenched teeth. "Let Ron go… this is between you and me."

"What good will battle do between us?" Voldemort dropped his smile, his snake-like eyes narrowed to slits. "You know it's fruitless."

"This ends here." Harry stood in the dueling position. "Let him go!"

Voldemort began to fume; Ron's face went stricken.

"Harry… forget about me! Just go ahead!" Ron shouted suddenly, his voice hoarse.

Harry ignored him, and for what seemed like ages, he stared Voldemort down. No one moved, making the air as still as if it had been frozen in place. Then, suddenly, something hit the back of Harry's feet. Ever so slightly, he looked down and saw a small bottle. A vial…

"What's the matter, Harry? Go ahead… attack me!" Voldemort taunted.

In one fluid motion, Harry bent down, picked up the vial, and concentrated on the first thing that popped into his head. What happened next happened so fast that Voldemort had no time to think.

RARRRROOOWWWEERRRR!

Harry had changed into his Animagus form. He charged and leapt on top of Voldemort, knocking Ron aside. Hissing and spitting, Harry clawed at the dark lord, knocking his flailing limbs away as Voldemort made attempts to ward him off. The clay-colored ground began to turn up in a maelstrom of sand, catching in Harry's eyes and distracting him just enough for Voldemort to get his barring. He managed to push Harry's hissing form off of him and grab the other vial.

"I've _had_ it with you, Potter!" Voldemort raged, rich dark blood oozing from a gash on his snake-like brow. "Nothing is going to stop me!"

Harry blinked what sand was left from his eyes to see Voldemort holding up the vial of Atom Dust to the shimmering air that was the entrance to their dimension. The vial Harry had used to change himself was missing, lost in the fray. There was no way he could change back to human without it.

"Not so fast!" Shouted a weak voice.

Ron leapt out of nowhere, rushing past Harry and straight at Voldemort. However, he was too injured, and Voldemort merely knocked him away. Laughing, Voldemort held up the vial triumphantly.

"Your last card has been dealt and you have lost! I shall now have what has been denied of me for all these years! Utter and complete power!"

Harry was about to make one final, desperate lunge, when a force of sound so powerful it deafened him suddenly filled the Crossworlds.

"_CRESHENDO_!"

Instantly, the ground began to rumble and shake violently. Harry looked around, eyes wide, at Voldemort, who was just as surprised as he was. Neither one of them had cast this spell, which was now causing the ground to part and shift. Another violent quake shook everyone off their feet; Harry let out a yowl of surprise.

"WHAT?" Voldemort fumed, falling down amongst moving jagged rocks. A large rift, not unlike the one Harry had walked over, was beginning to form on that very spot! Harry struggled to all four of his paws, searching madly for the vial Voldemort was holding. Then, there it was, a glinting small bottle teetering on the edge of an upraised rock.

"Harry!"

Harry strained to look behind him, and was horrified to see Ron quickly slipping into an enormous crack that was opening up right underneath him. Instinctively, Harry whirled around to save him, bounding up to grab his arms when he realized- he was still a panther. His paws could not hold on to Ron's slipping arms.

"Harry, the vial!" Ron shouted in his ear, his eyes looking past him. Harry looked back to see the vial dangerously close to falling into another crack. He looked back down at Ron, seeing tears pouring down his bloodstained cheeks. "Harry…"

Harry tried to shout out to him, but all that came out was a piercing growl. Without a vial of Atom Dust, he couldn't change back.

Ron swallowed hard, quickly starting to loose his grip. The ground around them continued to rage and distort the landscape. Harry dug his claws into Ron's skin, despite knowing it hurt. The look in Ron's eyes was that of disbelief and thought. Desperately, Harry kept his hold.

_I'm not going to let you go!_ Harry shouted in his mind. _Don't you _dare_ give up, Ron!_

There was a blood-curdling scream so chilling that Harry nearly lost his grip on Ron. Again, he strained to look back at the ailing vial to see Voldemort crawling toward it. He was dangerously close.

"Harry!" Ron shouted, watching Voldemort in horror.

For the rest of his life, what happened next would haunt Harry's mind and soul.

Voldemort raised a badly scratched and bloody hand to grab the vial. There was no doubt he would use it immediately. Harry's instinct completely took over; Voldemort square in his eyes. In one liquid movement, Harry twisted around and landed on his back. Voldemort let out another deathly scream, flailing his hand up and knocking the vial off its unstable pedestal. Harry watched, as if in slow motion, the vial fall into the large crevice that had opened underneath it. He dived, claws outstretched as far as they would go, straight for the vial. Just as the glass hit his claws and slide wearily into his paw, another scream cut straight to his heart.

_Oh… oh, God… NO!_ Harry looked back.

The place where Ron had been holding on to was gone… crumbled into another enormous rift. Ron was gone.

Harry hadn't realized he had turned back into human, holding the vial of Atom Dust. He stared in utter disbelief at the spot where his best friend had been hanging… spatters of his blood still visible on the edge where he had held on to his final moments. Harry had let him go… _he let him go_! Without thought! He just _LET HIM GO_!

"I will _not_ be defeated!" Shouted Voldemort, slamming into the unresisting Harry. Yet, the vial remained in Harry's hand, no matter how hard Voldemort clawed and punched him. He just stared… stared at the spot where he had last seen one of the closest people he had ever had. Ignoring Voldemort, who was too weak to amount to anything, Harry got up and slowly walked to the edge of the rift. He didn't care how unstable the ground was… he didn't care if Voldemort was getting to his feet… he didn't care. Nothing mattered. What mattered was gone, never to return, could never be resolved.

"_RONNNNNN!!!!!"_ Harry shouted until his voice was hoarse. "RONNNNN!" The tears gushed from his eyes. "RONNNNNN!"

His words echoed painfully to the depths of the rift and he listened desperately for a reply that would never return. The pain was too much to bear.

"You killed your friend… didn't you?" Came Voldemort's cruel voice, low and whispering behind Harry's ear. "He died… because you are a fool."

Very slowly, very painstakingly, Harry turned to face this menace. His eyes were watery slits, but you could still see a fiery green piercing a gaze so deadly, Voldemort actually recoiled in mild surprise.

"What are you going to do about it, Potter? Kill me? It wasn't I who killed your friend. No, no this time… this time, it was _you_."

Harry shook his head, his mouth cracked in a humorless smile. It was enough to put Voldemort off guard. He grabbed his neck in a deathly grip- where magic had failed, Harry would do with his own two bare hands.

"First, you kill my parents. Then, you haunt my dreams. You've killed my friends… you've killed families… you've killed _towns_. What do you _think_ I'm going to do? Look at you! You're nothing but a pathetic shell, useless without it's magic to fuel it. You've been a puppet for the demon that has caused the deterioration of my world- the world I was cheated of for my entire childhood! I haven't had much to cherish because of you, and what little I have had you have also come to destroy as well! So, whether I die in this retched place here or not, I don't care… as long as you are no longer a presence to be known in my world or any other."

Voldemort's eyes narrowed, his jagged breath nervous in Harry's grip. He suddenly began to laugh. It cut straight to Harry's heart, and he found his grip loosening with the horrible sound.

"That's what it's all about, isn't it? Revenge? Kill me, Harry! Kill me! I deserve it! You'll be doing what heroes do, won't you? That is what you are… _The Boy Who Lived_… the savior of the magical community! Can't disappoint the people now, can we? Do it, Harry! It's the only thing you _can_ do, after all… it's the only way to mask your own sin. The senseless death of your friend! Which was more important? The fate of the universe… or the life of the closest you've ever gotten to a brother as a friend? _I_ know what happened, Harry, I know. I'll go to my final grave with the knowledge. How 'bout you? Who will haunt your dreams _now_?" 

It was all too much for Harry. His greatest enemy was in his hands, torn and beaten. The words struck him with a forceful blow, and he felt his mind shutting down with despair. It was what Voldemort wanted. He reached for the vial in Harry's pocket, where he had put it unaware he had done so. His hand slipped inside…

"NO!" Harry suddenly tightened his grip. Voldemort grabbed his arms, his bloodied face turning blue. The only thing Harry needed to see was his eyes, wide with genuine fear. Frantically, Voldemort uselessly pulled out his wand, and that was all it took to trigger Harry's instinct once more. He drew up all the strength he could possibly gain, lifted Voldemort, and tossed him straight into the rift. The wand fell lifelessly at Harry's feet, as its owner screamed his last haunting scream.

"You don't jump into a rift… you _walk_." Harry stared unblinkingly into the abyss, his mind feeling heavy and empty. He slowly looked down at his feet where the brother of his own wand lay. This wand took the lives of countless people, including his parents. It tortured the souls of hundreds; it had left its mark on the world. Fleetingly, Harry bent down and picked it up, ready to snap it in half. However, he stopped, just as he was poised to do so. When he got back into his dimension, there was no way to prove indefinitely that Voldemort was dead. No one would rest without proof that he was finally gone. Instead, Harry pocketed it in his tattered wizarding robes.

"Harry?"

Harry looked up slightly at the distorted ground, and saw Moggit and Encarta sitting and staring at him, still as statues. They said nothing more. Harry took a deep breath and closed his eyes a moment before looking down at them with such sorrow that Encarta let out a mournful mew.

"I want to go home."

****

Author's Note: Well, what did you think? ::throws up hands:: Sorry it's so short! My job is getting, er, complicated and of course there's college… but I'm trying! I have my glasses back, so that's good. If you're confused at all (is it still, Trinity?) _tell_ me in your review so I can see if I can clear it up for you. Otherwise, expect two more posts for this story, and then it's done. Some of you have been asking again about Timothy's _Shadows of Yesterday_… I haven't forgotten him folks, don't worry! I'll be back to him right after I'm done with this novel. I also have my story _The Table of Time_, which was my first ever Harry Potter fanfic- it's never been posted, and I'd like you to see where I came from since last July! When I get that re-written (I have long since lost the file), it'll be posted.

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Check Up On Orca on the Web: My website is growing bigger and bigger, with a lot more stuff. You can now earn awards based on a webpage, story, or your writing in general- just by requesting a review from me! There's even new downloadable desktops featuring artwork from _Etam Luos, Beyond the Emerald Green, _and _Timothy's Story_. The fan art section has been upgraded for better viewing- **if you would like to submit any fan art, you can E-mail your .JPEG or .GIF file to me! I'm also interested in anyone who wants to show what they think scenes from any of my stories look like and submit fan art to be credited there as well**! The website is updated frequently, so check it out! Bookmark it at [http://www.theworldofreneepotter.disneyfansites.com][1]****

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"I will never forget, and, I'll never let them forget what happened today." ~Quatre R. Winner (Gundam Wing)

~OrcaPotter

[OrcaMorph@aol.com][2]

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	10. Realization

Chapter Nine ****

Author's Note: Welcome to the last chapter of _Beyond the Emerald Green_. Don't worry, there is an epilogue (as I have been saying), so don't get too emotional just yet (j/k). We have reached the point of which you will find out the answer most of you have been asking since the prologue- _why did Harry become they way is now?_ This is a powerful and emotional chapter, and I tried real hard to convey the answer. It's time… and _please_ review when you're through. Enjoy.

**__**

Special Thanks: To 007 & RavenNat, my outstanding beta readers. 

****

Chapter Nine

Realization

_Maigo Nano Hi _was overrun by wizards and witches. Officials from several countries were everywhere, finding and arresting Voldemort's Death Eaters in droves. They were surprisingly submissive, most of them turning themselves in without question. It was as if something inside of them had snapped, and they had come to their senses. No one said anything about what they thought about this, not wanting to give false hope. Yet, what occupied their minds more than unusual Death Eaters, was the disappearance of two Royal Aurors Society members… and Voldemort himself.

Everyone, from Britain to Brazil, knew that Harry Potter had gone to Japan to seek out the dark lord. The Royal Aurors Society knew full well by now the directives behind Project: _China Tea_. Each member of that special project had been found dead- except one. Ron Weasley was one of the missing members, as was Harry Potter. With this in mind, Aurors searched frantically for them- eager to find out if their suspicions were correct. _Had the dark lord taken his final defeat at last_?

Only Harry Potter knew for sure, and when he finally appeared, Harry proved their suspicions true. There he stepped from the arch doorway, from the Crossworlds, and back into his dimension. He was weak, tired, and grief stricken, but all that everyone could see was a tall and brave savior. Harry had no control over himself. He was simply there, but his spirit was elsewhere. To everyone, Harry Potter was back, but the real Harry was nowhere to be found.

"Harry Potter!" A voice cried out. Then another, and another, until the whole cliffside was echoing the name. It hit his ears, but he couldn't hear. All he could hear was the resonance of a scream. The scream rose in intensity as the name the people were shouting turned into a single voice… a voice that grew into a malicious whisper. It seethed into Harry's ears, lurking into his brain, taunting his mind.

"_Who will haunt your dreams now, Harry Potter?"_

Harry's hands balled into fists, his breath came out ragged and fast. No one took notice. There stood Harry Potter! The Boy Who Lived! He had returned!

_"Can't disappoint the people now, can we?"_

"NO!" Harry bellowed. He reached down into his pocket and drew out Voldemort's wand. Instantly, the cliff fell into a dead silence. Harry held it high above his head, sweat drenching his messy black hair. "YOU CAN'T BREAK ME!"

In one fluid movement, he brought the wand down upon his knee, and snapped it in half. There was a burst of green sparks, and the two broken pieces fell to the ground… where they shriveled up in a puff of smoke.

Harry stared at that spot long after the crowd rose up such a cheer that islands off the coast could hear. He stood there, panting, as people began to surround him. They touched him as if he were made of the finest crystal, wept joy and relief. The highest praises were brought down upon him in several languages. Yet Harry couldn't feel their touch or hear their praise. He couldn't sense their being or listen to their voices. Harry was just there, all alone, empty of his life force. A pall fell over his eyes, locking him out from the world. He couldn't understand why the people were happy… for he couldn't see.

"Harry…!" Yelled a familiar voice.

"Harry!" Shouted another.

The second voice managed enough to get through to Harry's senses. He remembered that voice… he… he loved that voice. Always had.

"Oh, Harry!"

A face began to show up in his vision. Bright and worried eyes mixed with relief stared deep into him. Long red hair swam around his shoulders.

"Harry, what happened? Are you alright?"

"Ginny?" Harry didn't recognize his voice.

"Yes, Harry. And Hermione… Hermione is here too, see?" Now Harry could hear her worry.

"Harry, where's Ron? What happened to Ron?" Chestnut hair swirled in front of his eyes.

"Where's Ron?" Harry said, his eyes out of focus. "Ron is home… Ron… _I_ wanted to go home. He… I…"

"Harry?" There were tears in Ginny's eyes.

"I _let_ him go."

And he ran. He ran past Ginny. He ran past Hermione. He ran past the crowds of rejoicing people, oblivious of their hero. He ran and he ran. He ran until his muscles gave out and he fell. Where he landed, he didn't know. Harry didn't care. He had nothing left to care for.

Eventually, he was found. Ginny knelt by his side, parting his sweat-dampened bangs. She looked at his lightning bolt scar, red and blazing, and touched it gently with a slender finger. Harry felt it all behind an enormous mental wall. He was far away… nothing would ever be the same again.

"Oh, _Harry_." Ginny sighed.

She drew him up to his feet and carried most of his weight through a thicket of trees. It was all as if a dream to Harry, as if it wasn't real. He wasn't entirely there… a part of him was lost, seemingly never to be found again. While he could feel Ginny's small shoulders underneath him, her red hair blanketing his cheek, Harry was certain that she wasn't with him. He had let her brother _die_… she would forsake him. She would never be by his side now.

"It'll be alright, Harry, just a while longer and you'll be home." Ginny panted gently.

_Home_, Harry thought distantly. _Ron won't be home. He'll never be home again._

Then he blacked out. Harry submitted to the darkness, to his unconscious mind. It was there that he was trapped… forever seeing the image of letting Ron go, of Voldemort's jeering smile, the screams, …the _voices._ Harry realized that his entire life was pointless. He had always been, from the Dursleys to the end of Hogwarts. Everyone thought of him as something much more than he actually was. He was really just a coward, a shell living a sheltered life. Sure, he had finally accomplished what everyone wanted, but what did it cost him?

"From what I can see, physically he's unharmed. Just fatigued and starved." Said a voice seemingly miles away.

"But?" Asked another, smaller and full of concern.

"But, whatever happened to him has caused him to fall into a mental coma. He's in severe shock."

"Will he recover?"

"If time allows him to. I can't even begin to imagine the suffering this man has endured throughout his short life- it will not be easy."

"We shouldn't tell him then,"

"About your brother?"

"And his godfather."

"Oh, yes. No, let him rest for now. He's not ready for another blow."

_Another blow?_ Harry let the wall of his mind thicken. He didn't want anymore heartache. He would hide… nothing would ever hurt him again.

"Harry… if you can hear me, I won't be far. If you need me, I'll be here."

_You don't understand, Ginny… you don't understand_.

It was three days before Harry opened his eyes again. He found himself in a secluded spot of a makeshift hospital tent. Without a sound, Harry put his clothes back on. There was a deafening buzz of voices outside the tent. He put his shoes on and quietly made his way to find the back of the tent, where he might be able to slip out. The tent was empty, aside from him, and he found the back door flap easily. His mind was a complete blank, thinking nothing other than his chair back at Stag's Head and Sirius' warm cup of tea in his hands. Harry stepped outside.

"Harry."

He stopped dead, only to face Hermione. She was slightly shorter than he was, looking deeply into his eyes with an unreadable expression. Harry avoided her gaze, trying to look around as if interested in something else. No… no, he couldn't face her. Not after what he had done.

"You _know_, don't you?" She said quietly.

Harry said nothing. He continued to look away.

"Tell me!" She snapped, her eyes pleading. When Harry still said nothing, she took his face in her hands and forced him to look her straight in the eyes. "Tell me."

Finally, Hermione's severity that she had always possessed ever since he had met her forced him to speak.

"I let him _go_."

Hermione's eyes went wide, she didn't understand.

"Harry…"

"I LET HIM GO! Ron is dead! Because of _me_!" Harry shouted suddenly, tearing her hands from his face. He stood over her, panting in his outburst, as she stared at him with her mouth gaping.

"What…? I don't understand!"

"I am not the person you think I am!" Harry shouted severely. And with that he took two steps behind her. "I never was."

He apparated then. Back to what he believed was home… the last place where he could go. He left Hermione alone at the back of the tent, alone to contemplate what he had said. He didn't care what she thought… it didn't matter anymore. Nothing would ever be as it was again.

The woods were silent when Harry appeared at the foot of the stone staircase that led up to Stag's Head. He looked up at the wooden house with yearning, wanting desperately to feel Sirius' reassuring hand on his shoulder and a cup of tea. Yes… he was away from everything that ever happened. Here in these magical woods, nothing could break the serenity that it provided. Harry let his eyes study his home, noting with a faint smile the way the house jutted out magically over the cliff one side of it rested upon.

However, his moment of happiness struck him suddenly with shock. Why was he happy? While he was allowed to return home, Ron, his best friend, his _brother_ in bond, would not be. Instead, he was gone, forced to an early eternal rest- a rest he was not ready to take. All because of Harry.

"Sirius!" he cried suddenly, ignoring the tears that had begun to pour over his cheeks. "Sirius!"

In a desperate, childish rush, Harry climbed the stone staircase. He flew open the wooden door, emblazoned with the image of a stag, and stumbled into the foyer. "Sirius!"

By then he was crying freely, running into the heart of the house. The large open room where the walls were nothing but glass overlooking the ocean, was eerily silent. Harry's desperate footsteps echoed dully in the space, which at one time was warm and full of life. Now it seemed empty, and Harry let out a sob at the feeling of the house being abandoned. Where was Sirius?

"Sirius?!" His voice was hardly recognizable.

He looked to the two armchairs that were always by the fire, where he and Sirius would always be. Harry let out a gasp of relief as he saw the reassuring figure of his godfather sitting in his usual chair. Why had he not said anything?

"Oh, Sirius!" Harry cried, rushing over to him. He was about to confront him, confide in him, beg for his comfort… but he stopped suddenly when he saw Sirius face-to-face.

"Sirius! What… what _happened_ to you?" Harry's heart skipped a beat.

Sirius' eyes, which were normally cool and collective, were staring dead ahead, out of focus. They were clouded over, as if by a mist, and unseeing. And still, he did not answer Harry.

"How…?" Harry fell to his knees and took Sirius' hands.

"Harry? Is that you?" Sirius' voice came out as dry as parchment.

"Yes, Sirius, it's me! Tell me, what happened to your eyes?" He squeezed his hands gently.

"Oh, Harry, I'm afraid I cannot see you. Or hear you." His face twisted in grief and shame.

It was all too much to bear. Harry wailed and buried his head in his godfather's lap.

"You disappeared. I was in Mexico, helping to put a stop to the rising numbers of Death Eaters there, when I heard. No one knew where you were. The whole special project team was dead, but Ron was missing as well. I tried to leave to go find you, but I was ambushed by a swarm of Death Eaters. There were too many. A barrage of different curses hit me. In the end, I had been hit with so many that it left me blind and deaf… and there is no way to reverse it. The healers sent me home, here. I knew you would come home, though. I'm sorry." Sirius explained sadly, stroking Harry's tangled hair.

Harry shook his head miserably. Here he had caused another person he loved to loose so much. Sirius no longer had a life, and all because of Harry once again.

"It's my fault! It's all my fault!" Harry sobbed, turning Sirius' musty wizarding robes damp.

"Harry, what's the matter? I'm alright! You don't have to worry about me." Sirius said tenderly. "It's not your fault."

"Yes it is!" Harry nodded, Sirius sensing his gesture.

"Oh, I wish I could hear you. I wish I could see your face and make it better. I'm afraid I'm never there for you when you need me most. It's me who's at fault, Harry, not you."

"Never." Harry hiccuped like a small child, with severity. "It has always been me… as it always will."

"There's something more, isn't there." Sirius said in a quiet tone. "It's not like you to be so upset."

Harry drew himself up to look at his godfather's unseeing face. He forced his sobs back down into his chest and wiped his eyes. 

"Tell me, Harry." Sirius said sternly, with parental incentive. "Don't keep it in you. While I can't hear your words or see your tears, I can still _feel_ them. You don't have to feel them alone anymore."

Harry broke down then, falling back into his godfather's lap. Sirius held him as he told him everything, letting the resonance of his voice speak through Sirius' body. He cried until he had no more tears to shed. When he was finally through, Harry slumped to the floor like an empty husk. Sirius leaned down and lowered himself to the floor next to him, where he could finally give him the hug that Harry wanted so desperately to feel.

"Harry," he said into his ear. "You don't have to worry anymore. Your job is done. This will always be your home, and this is where you belong. I may be trapped inside myself, but I am still here for you now. I love you as a son, as you are to me in spirit, and no matter what may have happened in the past- I am still _very_ proud of you."

Harry could only hiccup with his moist eyes, burying his face into Sirius' chest. He didn't know how long he stayed in Sirius' embrace, but he knew that the house was dark and cold when he felt Sirius gently pulling him away.

"New hope dawns with each new day," he said to Harry softly. "Time for bed."

But the dawns that came day after day were cloudy and gray. Harry refused to leave the house, tending to Sirius' needs by himself and fetching supplies strictly through Floo Powder. He forced his mind to only focus on Sirius, and taking care of him. No matter how much Sirius complained, Harry did what needed to be done for him. With each small task- fetching Sirius' clothes, making dinner, cleaning up- Harry felt that he would work forever until his soul felt redeemed. Yet, no matter what he did, the voices still taunted him at the back of his mind, and screamed at him in his dreams.

It was only a matter of time before the Royal Aurors Society declared Ron Weasley officially missing and presumed dead. Only the Society had means of contacting Stag's Head, and Harry ignored the summons that came from the fire. Sirius was honorably retired, and Harry put on extended leave. Still, Harry gave no reply. There was no way, to his knowledge, of letting Sirius know of his status.

That was until a few weeks after Harry had returned to Stag's Head, when yet another person called from the fire. Sirius was asleep in his chair, unhearing, and Harry making soup in the kitchen.

"I know you're there, Harry."

Harry remembered that voice. That voice in which had helped him when he was young, advised him, counseled him. There was power in the voice, even still after so many years. It had been months since he heard it last.

"Harry, come here."

Such was the authority in the voice that Harry almost immediately obeyed. He hesitated in the doorway of the kitchen, where he could see the head in the fire.

"Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry." Dumbledore's eyes lacked their usual twinkle.

Harry didn't say anything, but came closer. He set down his cup of soup on an end table and crossed his arms, looking out the cloudy window that made up the wall to his side.

"Why won't you come out, Harry? You know Sirius can take care of himself for a while." Dumbledore said quietly. Still, Harry was silent. "You will never heal like this, you know."

"I have no need to heal," Harry said finally, almost inaudibly. "I don't deserve to."

"While I do not, and may never, know what happened… you can't let it destroy you." Dumbledore said after a while. Harry merely shook his head. "You haven't done anything so wrong as to throw your life away."

"But I _did_ throw a life away!" Harry shouted suddenly, turning to face Dumbledore finally. "Ron's!"

Dumbledore didn't look the least bit surprised at Harry's outburst. He kept his soothing calm, which eventually got Harry to quiet down.

"Ron took an oath, the day he became an Auror, that if he would be required, he would give his life for the sake of preventing evil. He was fully aware of the risks involved with his job, and he ultimately gave the greatest sacrifice for the wellbeing of the people. You took the same oath, you know what the job involves. If the roles were switched, you would have wanted it the same way. I have no doubt that Ron is proud of what you did."

Harry wanted to yell out again, disagree, but there was such certainty in Dumbledore's tone that there was no way he could argue. Yet he still felt the same way, no matter what was said or done. He merely forced more tears back into his eyes and looked straight at the window once more.

"I can't force you to realize anything, Harry, but I can help you if you wish it. There's nothing more I can do unless you want me to. I've only called upon you today to tell you that the funeral service for Ron is this evening." Dumbledore looked at him intently. "He, and the Weasleys, would want you to be there."

Ever so slightly, Harry turned to face him.

"For what purpose? To console with me, or accuse at me?"

"You've always been so stubborn," Dumbledore snapped, suddenly angry. "You're just like your father. But he would seek to be reconciled… not wallow forever in his own self-pity."

It was meant to turn Harry around, to make him see reason, but Dumbledore immediately regretted his statement. Harry turned to him, red in the face, too infuriated for words. Dumbledore knew he had made a grave mistake.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly.

"What makes you think you understand?" Harry's voice was low and dangerous. He lost his submission to Dumbledore's natural authority. "No one will _ever_ understand! Just leave me alone!"

With that, he drew out his wand, shouted a spell, and a wave of water crashed over the fireplace. Immediately, the fire was put out, and Dumbledore's head disappeared. Sirius flinched and woke up when a few drops fell on his face. He searched the room unseeingly in confusion.

"Harry? What was that? The roof's not leaking, is it?"

Harry's fists trembled in his rage, and he stomped off… his heavy shoes echoing off the wooden floor. Sirius could feel the vibration through his chair, and he let out a controlled breath. Yet another shadow passed over the house.

Despite it all, there he was amongst the shadows. No matter how hard Harry tried, he couldn't keep away. It was as if some invisible force was driving him to be there. He needed to see… to hear… to beg forgiveness, but he couldn't bring himself any closer than he was.

The funeral was taking place at The Burrow, exclusively for family and friends. Harry could feel the special spells and wards put around the property to keep the press away. Whether they were to cover Ron's final goodbye or to see if Harry would show up, he would never know. He was close enough to hear, but too far away to see or be seen, as the ceremony commenced. All he could make out of the Weasleys were their red flaming hair. There were many others as well, no doubt Dumbledore among them.

It wasn't a long funeral, and a monument was presented instead of a coffin. There would never be a body, for Ron would never be found. He was lost in an abyss between worlds, a fate that Harry had let him befall to. The memories of those moments became fresh and real as he heard the mournful cries of Mrs. Weasley. She had loved Harry like a son, been the closest to a mother he had ever had, and he had to go and betray her by letting Ron go. He was causing everyone he loved to feel pain.

"I know that's you, Harry." Said a soft voice from behind him, suddenly.

Harry started and twirled around, his black tail between his legs. He had been sure no one would see him as an Animagus, and the only ones that knew of his form besides Sirius and the Society were Dumbledore, and Ron.

"Why are you hiding?" The owner of the voice stepped into view from the shadows, and there she was, just as beautiful as ever.

There was a soft shift in the fallen leaves, and Harry stood as himself away from her, refusing to look into her eyes.

"Dumbledore said that _you _wouldn't be here, but that you would in some other way." Ginny said quietly. There was no tone of hurt or accusation in her voice.

"He told you then." Harry whispered dully, knowing Ginny would understand what he meant.

"Everyone is worried about you, me more than anyone. Hermione told me what happened back in Japan." She nodded.

Harry merely shrugged, masking his shame at yelling at one of his best friends.

"She's not mad at you, you know." Ginny said, coming closer. "What has happened has been the hardest on you, she understands that."

He looked at her with his eyes narrowed, refusing to let his immediate thoughts speak.

"But you're making it harder by keeping away, both for you and everyone else." She continued, now so close Harry could smell her faint sweet scent.

"I'm responsible for everything," he said finally. "There's no way I can face everyone anymore. You should be appalled by me. You should _hate_ me."

"Don't be stupid," Ginny looked shocked, almost hurt. "I love you… and forgive you for whatever happened."

At her words a single tear rolled down both their cheeks. Harry finally brought himself to look into her eyes.

"Me being around would only be a constant reminder of Ron's death. Don't you see? I can't do this to you, or your family. When I look into the mirror I don't see myself anymore… I'm not the person I used to be! You're better off without me, everyone is. Voldemort is dead; there's no reason for the people to need me anymore. With me gone, you can forget and move on. I love you too much to cause you any more pain."

Ginny looked deep into his eyes then, the tears coming more freely. She didn't say anything for a moment, but when she did her hands were shaking in fists.

"If you leave… if you leave _me_ again, you will be causing me pain. Why can't you realize what you are doing? You're doing more harm now by keeping away than anything that you could ever possibly have done in the past. Mistakes are easily forgiven, but not if they're made on purpose. I've waited for you all this time. Are you going to keep me waiting forever?"

Harry took her hand, and she squeezed it. She looked up at him in hope, expecting him to say what she wanted him to say. Yet, he shook his head, his eyes closed.

"I'm not worth waiting for, anymore. Goodbye, Ginny."

She dropped his hand and stumbled back as if he had slapped her. Her eyes were wide and confused, turning angry. Ginny shook her head slowly, glaring at Harry.

"You're not the Harry I know. But I know he's still there. You can tell the _real_ Harry Potter that Ginny Weasley is still waiting for him, and she always will be."

And she turned her back and left, leaving him to stare longingly at her profile until he couldn't make her out anymore. Another great loss left his heart as empty as a dried up well. He knew that this was the end, and there was no going back. Without looking at the place he used to love, Harry apparated back to Stag's Head, where he would stay as a person he couldn't recognize.

****

Author's Note: "_In order to understand the reason, you must first understand the cause"_… have I answered your questions? This novel will always be one of my favorites, and a cornerstone of my writing ability. While there is still the epilogue to go, I'm already feeling sad at knowing it's almost over. I'll have you know that Sirius was a big issue in this chapter- he was going to be killed, at first, but I thought that some of you would never forgive me for it. Ron and Hedwig were one thing, but Sirius? Oh, I shudder to think of the reviews on that one! Then he was just going to be lost, paving the way for a possible sequel, but I felt that this novel is best at being alone. Not only that, but if I were to do a sequel I would never get Timothy done! So, while keeping him alive, by making him completely and irreversibly blind and deaf, I still keep one of the dramatic downfalls that contributes to Harry's current hermit-like state. If this chapter still leaves you with questions (as my beta readers so enthusiastically informed me), the epilogue will surely wrap things up. I'll see you there!

****

Visit Orca on the Web: There's a new piece of artwork up by me, of Encarta & Moggit from chapter 7 & 8 of _Beyond the Emerald Green_. It's also your way of keeping tabs on my progress in current stories, and read up and see a lot of other stuff. Bookmark it at [http://www.theworldofreneepotter.disneyfansites.com][1] .

**__**

"That's funny… my tears are falling, and I'm not sad at all." –Quatre R. Winner (Gundam Wing)

~OrcaPotter

[OrcaMorph@aol.com][2]

   [1]: http://www.theworldofreneepotter.disneyfansites.com/
   [2]: mailto:OrcaMorph@aol.com



	11. Epilogue

Epilogue ****

Author's Note: As _Beyond the Emerald Green_ comes to a close, I realize just how far I've come since _Etam Luos_. If it weren't for Renee, I probably would not have gotten this far… and if it weren't for you, the reader, I _know_ I would never have become the writer I am. I've found my calling, and while in the future I won't be writing fanfiction as much- because of the demanding schedule of college and real life, rest assured that nothing can stop me now. _Beyond the Emerald Green_ will always be one of my most favorite works, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I've enjoyed writing it. Please review at the end, but most of all, please enjoy.

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Special Thanks: To my beta readers, 007 and RavenNat- two good friends, and each and every one of you readers; your support and kind words have gotten me through some tough days- and tough writer's blocks!

****

Epilogue

The room fell silent then, what little rain that was left from the storm outside pattered gently on the dark glass windows of the walls. Erin gazed quietly at the fire, waiting for Harry to explain more, but he didn't say anything. Finally, as she played with the mug of soup she had long before finished, Erin broke the silence.

"What happened to Sirius?"

Harry lowered his mug of soup from his lips, half full and no doubt cold. He didn't say anything at first, staring distantly into the fire, but then looked away from it slowly toward the hallway beyond the room.

"Remus Lupin came, five years later. He… in a sense… understood. While I was managing Sirius fine on my own, Lupin convinced me that it was hurting me too much to see him in the state he was in. So, he took Sirius to live with him. In a way, he didn't give me much choice."

"How do you mean?" Erin asked.

"Both of them were getting old… and Sirius' needs would only increase as time wore on. It would have gotten to the point where I would need to go out and face people more to get what he needed. Lupin was a better choice." He answered softly.

Erin frowned at him, feeling herself becoming increasingly irritated by Harry's attitude.

"Don't you think that was a cowardly decision?" She asked boldly.

Harry put down his soup and turned to her; the lines on his face were dark.

"I don't want to be a celebrity. To go out would mean no peace. Think about it, think about what a person's first reaction to me would be."

Erin shrugged slightly, seeing his point, but she still felt the same.

"It's still a weak excuse."

Harry let out a sneering laugh, crossing his arms and looking darkly into the shadows where the fire's light did not touch.

"I told you, you wouldn't understand."

Erin held back an outburst, and instead decided to stay quiet… waiting for him. After five minutes, when she hadn't had said anything, Harry turned to her. It was then, looking into his eyes, that she got to see beyond the emerald green and see the person locked inside.

"You're afraid," she said softly.

He blinked and looked at the floor.

"You've always been afraid… ever since the beginning. You've seen death before you could speak, lived in fear of malice from your relations, been hunted by the same death from the beginning as you grew, only to see it all come crashing into one huge crescendo, causing you to hide within yourself. After all this time… all these years… are you still so afraid?" Erin leaned in to see his face more clearly, and for him to see hers.

His face flashed in a bout of anger and he pulled back into his armchair, out of sight. Yet she said nothing more, waiting for his reply, and after a few minutes, he gave one.

"Yes."

"Do you like living alone? In the middle of nowhere?" She asked carefully.

"I've gotten used to it…" he said uncertainly.

"Do you?" Erin pressed.

Harry hesitated, then let out a long sigh. 

"No."

"Don't you think it's time to let Harry Potter out now? Don't you think the wait has been long enough?" She continued, but she was pushing her luck.

"I think you should go now." Harry said bluntly, not looking back at her. She knew better than to challenge his tone, for he was still a powerful wizard. Keeping hold of her mug, Erin got up slowly, her eyes still on Harry's armchair. She grabbed her long discarded notepad and turned to leave.

"I do understand now, Mr. Potter. There's another person waiting for you that may want to too. If you can tell me… you can tell another." Erin walked slowly across the near-empty room, put her mug in the sink, and went down the hall to the foyer. Not once did Harry say anything, and she put on her now-dry raincoat that was hanging on the pegs by the door. She hesitated before she turned the doorknob, hoping to hear him say something, but the house was just as quiet as the soul that lived inside. Sighing, Erin left the house and walked out into the drizzling rain.

"So?"

"Did you see him?"

"What's he like?"

"Tell us, Erin, tell us!"

Erin didn't have a moment of peace since she walked back into The Daily Prophet the following morning. Her co-workers, and anyone else, who knew of her assignment, asked her a barrage of questions. She avoided all of them, going quickly to her office and shutting the door.

"What's up with her?" she heard them say outside her door.

"Bet you ten Galleons she didn't find him."

"I knew it. He's dead, I tell you."

"Most likely. Why else would he not be out in public?"

Erin sighed and put her briefcase down on her desk, sitting down in her chair heavily. She couldn't sleep the night before; thoughts about what Harry had told her running over and over in her brain. It didn't even occur to her before she reached her department what she would tell her supervisor. She didn't have anything prepared and written to be published. Nor would she. There really wasn't any way to prove of her meeting with the famous wizard, only her word. She had promised him she wouldn't write anything down.

"McDougal? Are you in?" came her supervisor's voice from behind the door.

Erin hesitated before she answered, taking a deep breath.

"Yes, come in."

The door opened, and the light surrounded the shadow of her supervisor from outside Erin's office. Erin had not lit any candles, preferring the darkness so that it wouldn't hurt her sleep-deprived eyes. She squinted as her supervisor walked in and shut the door.

"Well?"

Erin wrung her fingers over her desk and cleared her throat, not wanting to look at her.

"I found him."

When she didn't say anything, Erin continued honestly.

"He wouldn't let me take notes, so I don't have anything prepared to be published any time soon."

"You sound unsure," her supervisor said.

"No one will believe me," Erin sighed.

"I do."

Erin looked up at her then, studying the older woman's trim figure and long hair. For an older adult, she was still fairly pretty, and the prize of many suitors in the office. However, she never married, and Erin had seen her refuse some generous offerings.

"He told me no one would ever _truly_ understand, not really. But when he finished telling me his story, I _did_ understand… and I told him that someone else would too."

"You told him?" her supervisor whispered after a moment.

"No. He's still afraid, Ms. Weasley, still locked inside of himself." Erin leaned back in her chair, looking away.

Ginny Weasley sat on the edge of Erin's desk and put her hands on her knees.

"How come you never went there, if you knew where he was?" Erin asked, leaning forward again.

Ginny sighed and shook her head.

"I told him I'd always be waiting for him. I was afraid I'd push him away more by forcing him to see reason, which in his past has never really worked. There were a few times where I did go… where I only reached as far as the stone steps that led up to his house… but, I couldn't go further. Harry needs to save himself for once, and when he does, I'll be there for him."

Erin thought a moment, shuffling her feet.

"I think he's more afraid of you being lost to him forever, now, than anything else. Perhaps you should tell him you're still waiting." She said quietly.

"I have a feeling he still knows, Miss McDougal." Ginny said quickly, standing up and straightening out her wizarding robes. "For now, you should get started on your column. Others need to understand, too."

She left without looking back, leaving Erin with her mouth hanging open. None of the other reporters could see it, but Erin saw the glistening tears that had reflected the light back into the dark office. Sighing, she got out her quill and a sheet of parchment, and began.

_"The whole world knows Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived, the Wizard Saint, the Magical Savior. He's known by many names in many languages, but he is still just Harry. Harry Potter. A man who has seen and experienced more hardship than nobody else realizes. While he has saved our world more than once, prevented the rise of evil from returning, Harry has given up more than one could possibly give. No one will ever understand his story like he does, but he gave me a chance to. The question is… will he let others who care know as well?"_

*

Ginny Weasley closed up the offices in the department, cast the alarm spells, and locked the door. She walked down the three flights of stairs to the front lobby, where she said a quiet goodnight to the security guard. He tipped his black pointed hat to her and smiled as she left, shaking his head in pity with the thought of such a lovely woman all alone. Ginny drew up her cloak and walked into the night, unaware of the sounds in the darkness.

*

_"Harry Potter is just a mere mortal, contrary to popular belief. He suffers like us all, and while he has been lost to the world, he has been lost to himself as well. Only when he decides to conquer the only thing one has to fear- fear itself- will Harry Potter return. Until then, he remains locked in his place of solitude, where he seeks the forgiveness of those that have long since forgiven him."_

*

She stopped at the spot where she had last saw him, more than two decades before. Ginny could see the Burrow's lit windows beyond, knowing that her brothers were home. While she had never been alone, it felt like she was. For so many years, she had given up so much for Harry, and still he did not return. She longed for him so, trying to remember the good times, but the bad memories never failed to discern her.

"It wasn't your fault, Harry," she whispered to the wind, drawing her cloak up tighter around her.

There was a flicker of movement before she turned to go inside to the Burrow. Ginny paused, searching the darkness, refusing to let hope rise inside of her. She shook her head, knowing that it was just her longing that made her wish that he was there- just as he was when she left him.

"I just can't let you go," she breathed. In a slow, habitual movement, she grasped a chain that was tucked underneath her robes. Then, as the clouds parted and the light of the moon broke the darkness into a dim enigma of shapes, another thing caught her eye. It seemed as if she was imagining things again. "I see your eyes every day in my mind, the deep emerald green with a kind soul."

"For so long, I've kept that soul locked away." Came the husky, tired voice, but the same voice she had heard in her mind since the day they first met.

"Why?" came her simple question, looking into the darkness.

"I was afraid." He stepped closer.

"Of me?" Ginny whispered.

"No… of _me_."

She looked at him, and even in the dark she could see every detail. This was the Harry that had left her in the summer before her seventh year at Hogwarts. He had returned… after all this time.

"And are you still afraid?" she asked, going towards him.

"Only when I'm alone," Harry whispered, taking her hand in his.

"You've always been in my heart, Harry." Ginny put her head on his shoulder.

"No matter how far apart?" His voice resounded through her. She leaned back and pulled up the worn chain, bearing the locket he had given her so long ago. Opening it, the moonlight hit the engraved words- 

__

Always in my heart, no matter how far apart

"No matter how long," Ginny said, looking up at him.

*

_"There is no reason for Harry Potter to return. While he does in fact still exist, while still believed as some legend from a fantastic fairy tale, Mr. Potter by all accounts deserves his anonymous lifestyle. He has no desire to be a celebrity, even though he has grown up with the status ever since he was a baby. One should not expect an interview from him, nor should another seek out his company without his invitation again. Although, this astonishing man should not be alone, as he has been for so long. We can only hope, that Harry Potter forgives himself enough to find out if he'll be alone forever._

"For life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards."*

________________________________________________________________________

****

Author's Note: I really hope the epilogue helped close things for you and answer some questions. As for Sirius, I must've sat in front of the screen for twenty minutes before I figured out what to do with him. Then I remembered some of you asking if Lupin would ever show up, and BINGO, it hit me! Perfection, if I do say so myself. To actually end this novel, was hard, and writing the last paragraph was especially difficult. My beta readers helped me astonishingly, yet every time I fiddled with it, it sounded funky- so I just added a little.

This was my darkest fic ever, completely centered around emotion and self-flaws. Harry was the perfect candidate, and not too many fics out there reflect on how he truly is on the inside. Nobody ever comes out of a war the same, and it's inevitable that Harry will battle Voldemort in the end… with no less than another scar- on the soul. So, how do I cheer you up after such a deep and emotional literary work? Well, I was thinking about doing a short story on "Chicken Boo" (if you remember the cartoon short from the show "Animaniacs"), where Chicken Boo tries to disguise himself as Harry, and everyone believes him but Snape. "I tell you, he's a giant chicken!" shouted Snape, all red in the face. "No, of course not! He's Harry Potter!" chided Dumbledore, with Hermione and Ron shaking their heads in annoyance at Snape. "Buckaww!" Said Harry 'Boo' Potter. He's only found out when he tries to do magic, after which everyone sees the light and discovers that Snape was telling the truth the whole time. "See! I told you, he's a giant chicken!" he shouts. 

RavenNat and I might be doing a joint fic in the future, in which Harry, Sirius, Lupin, Voldemort, and Peter all come in for a group therapy session. "My scar clashes with everything I wear!" whined Harry. "I can't eat right, and my hair looks terrible." Sirius grumbled. "How can I possibly continue to live a joint life as a werewolf?! It's worse than a teenager with PMS!" Lupin groaned. "I need help with anger management." Voldemort crossed his arms hotly. "I have no self esteem and I frequently turn into a rat. Is that bad?" stuttered Peter.

Yet, what I think I really might do, is a Harry Potter drinking game for the books. No, not with alcohol… you kidding me? I'm still under 21 and this is not Germany (at least where I am)… lol. No, you do it with tea. You'll have to check my site out for more info on that. ANNNDD… yes folks, Timothy is coming back. I'll get busy on him ASAP. Like, this week… after I figure out where I left off and get back into the Timothy groove.

****

Check Out Orca on the Web: Eager about Timothy? I'll update my site with the latest on Timothy's progress, and if I really will do those crazy fics I mentioned above. [http://www.theworldofreneepotter.disneyfansites.com][1] there's a lot to see and do! It's had over 2000 hits, thanks a million!

**__**

"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." –Dumbledore (The Chamber of Secrets)

~OrcaPotter

[OrcaMorph@aol.com][2]

   [1]: http://www.theworldofreneepotter.disneyfansites.com/
   [2]: mailto:OrcaMorph@aol.com



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